{"id":38171,"date":"2025-07-25T14:19:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T14:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/?p=38171"},"modified":"2025-11-22T21:16:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T21:16:22","slug":"fcc-formally-approves-paramount-global-skydance-media-merger-in-deal-likely-to-harm-consumers-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/fcc-formally-approves-paramount-global-skydance-media-merger-in-deal-likely-to-harm-consumers-free-press\/","title":{"rendered":"FCC Formally Approves Paramount Global\/Skydance Media Merger in Deal Likely To Harm Consumers, Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission released its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/document\/fcc-approves-skydance-paramount-cbs-transaction\">Order<\/a> formally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/document\/fcc-approves-skydances-acquisition-paramount-cbs\">approving<\/a> the proposed $8 billion Paramount Global\/Skydance Media merger.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The FCC\u2019s Order imposes <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.fcc.gov\/public\/attachments\/FCC-25-43A2.pdf\">unprecedented<\/a> merger conditions, including a commitment to maintain an ombudsman for two years, reporting directly to the President of New Paramount, who will review and report complaints of bias or concerns regarding CBS\u2019s news programming. The merger approval also comes with an explicit agreement that the new entity will not engage in any diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The merger approval follows <a href=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/public-knowledge-condemns-cbs-60-minutes-settlement-with-president-trump-as-attack-on-press-freedoms\/\">Paramount Global\u2019s agreement<\/a> to pay $16 million to President Trump\u2019s library fund to settle his lawsuit over the editing of a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Public Knowledge argues that this merger approval marks another example of President Trump weaponizing his immense influence to shape the free press to his liking \u2013 at the expense of our First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following can be attributed to Morgan Wilsmann, Policy Analyst at Public Knowledge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPresident Trump made no secret that he knew his <a href=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/public-knowledge-condemns-cbs-60-minutes-settlement-with-president-trump-as-attack-on-press-freedoms\/\">frivolous lawsuit<\/a> against CBS, over its First Amendment-protected editorial discretion in its \u201860 Minutes\u2019 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, would need to be settled before the FCC approved this merger. His <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/114898229237459086\">very statement<\/a> that Skydance has agreed to run over $20 million in advertisements to promote <em>causes supported by President Trump<\/em> proves that the lawsuit was always intended to pressure a media company he dislikes into falling in line.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is curious that FCC Chairman Carr\u2019s strategy for \u2018the process of earning back Americans\u2019 trust\u2019 in news media involves demanding \u2018viewpoint diversity\u2019 in the spirit of the Fairness Doctrine \u2013 a policy <em>eliminated by the Reagan administration<\/em> due to First Amendment concerns that the doctrine constituted government interference in editorial decision-making.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe share Commissioner Anna Gomez\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.fcc.gov\/public\/attachments\/FCC-25-43A2.pdf\">concerns<\/a> over the \u2018never-before-seen controls over newsroom decisions and editorial judgment.\u2019 This includes the installation of an ombudsman charged with evaluating complaints of bias and advising the President of New Paramount. We hope that the ombudsman will field bias complaints across the political spectrum, and act independently from government influence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHowever, despite its conditions having been met, the FCC did not close out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/document\/fcc-seeks-comment-wcbs-news-distortion-complaint\">news distortion complaint<\/a> against CBS from the Center for American Rights \u2013 essentially putting a sword of Damocles over the news division&#8217;s head in exchange for the deal. Even so, we also hope that, following this merger, the new company will uphold the principles of a free press and editorial independence, and will stand in the face of continued pressure from President Trump and his loyalists.<br><br>\u201cWe are pleased to see that, among the merger agreements, is the investment in and dedication to <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.fcc.gov\/public\/attachments\/DOC-413229A1.pdf\">local news<\/a>, strengthening affiliated broadcast stations\u2019 capacity to serve their communities. However, the win for local news may be one bright spot in an otherwise bleak picture.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission released its Order formally approving the proposed $8 billion Paramount Global\/Skydance Media merger.&nbsp; The FCC\u2019s Order imposes unprecedented merger conditions, including a commitment to maintain an ombudsman for two years, reporting directly to the President of New Paramount, who will review and report complaints of bias or concerns regarding CBS\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[11,31,14],"class_list":["post-38171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release","tag-content-moderation","tag-free-expression","tag-platform-regulation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>FCC Formally Approves Paramount Global\/Skydance Media Merger in Deal Likely To Harm Consumers, Free Press - Public Knowledge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. 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