Paramount faces backlash over its $16-million Trump settlement

The criticisms castigated Paramount’s decision to pay $ 16 million to settle the trial of President Trump during changes “60 minutes”, describing the move of “spin without spin” which erodes American press freedoms.

Paramount Tuesday evening, accepted a historic regulation with Trump to end its $ 20 billion wide against CBS News. The president will not be paid directly, or indirectly, within the framework of the agreement, said Paramount. Instead, money will go to cover Trump’s legal costs and help finance his future presidential library.

Paramount leaders hope that the regulations will help open a way for regulators appointed by Trump to bless the sale of $ 8 billion in the company in the Skydance media in David Ellison. They wanted to suppress tensions with the president.

But journalists and others on Wednesday said that the gain would embrace Trump’s attacks and its allies on the media. Some have called the colony a stain on the proud inheritance of CBS News, the unique house of journalists as intrepid like Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Mike Wallace.

“This is a shameful decision of Paramount,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director of reporters Without Borders USA, in a statement. “The board of directors of Shari Redstone and Paramount should have been journalists from CBS and the integrity of press freedom. Instead, they chose to reward Donald Trump for his small legal assault.”

Trump’s legal team quickly celebrated the rules, saying: “President Donald J. Trump offers another victory for the American people because he once again holds the false information media responsible for their reprehensible acts and their deception.”

Bob Corn-Revere, chief lawyer for the Foundation of the Defense Organization for Defenders of the 1st non-profit for individual rights and expression, adopted an opposite opinion, affirming that wider repercussions would result.

“A cold wind has exploded each editorial room,” Corn-Revere said in a statement. “Paramount may have closed this affair, but it opened the door to the idea that the government should be the editor-in-chief of the media.”

The federal communications commissioner Anna Mr. Gomez, the only Democrat in the Panel, said that the regulation was “a desperate decision [by Paramount] To appease the administration and secure the regulatory approval of a major transaction currently pending before the FCC. »»

“This moment marks a precedent dangerous for the 1st amendment, and he should alarm anyone who appreciates a free and independent press,” said Gomez.

For months, Paramount leaders have been torn into the way of managing the $ 20 billion trial in Trump. The dispute contributed to provoking the departure of two senior executives from CBS News who tried to hold the ground, especially since “60 minutes” continued to disseminate stories that carefully examined Trump’s policies and actions.

Journalists were horrified by the will of the board of directors to settle the case rather than defending the freedoms of the 1st amendment.

The employees of CBS News feared that the company be forced to apologize when they said that they had done nothing wrong. (The regulation, negotiated through a mediator, does not need an apology.)

Legal disputes began in October when CBS broadcast various parties of a response given by the president of the time, Kamala Harris, to a question on the decreasing influence of the Biden administration with the Israeli Prime Minister.

CBS’s “Face The Nation” program has executed a Harris clip giving a confused answer to the question. A day later, “60 minutes” broadcast another part of his response. This was energetic and succinct.

CBS recognized the modification of Harris’s response.

Trump and his conservative colleagues seized the changes, saying that CBS had manipulated Harris’s response to make it appear more authoritarian to improve his position with voters. He described the changes an example of electoral interference.

Trump and his conservative colleagues seized CBS changes to Harris’ response, calling them an example of electoral interference.

(Images Kevin Dietsch / Getty)

CBS has long denied such claims.

George Cheeks, director of the Co-Chef de Paramount, said at the meeting of the shareholders of the company on Wednesday that the colonies are designed so that companies avoid “being mired in uncertainty and distraction”.

“Companies often govern disputes to avoid high and somewhat unpredictable costs in legal defense, the risk of an unfavorable judgment which could lead to significant financial or reputation damage, and the disruption of commercial operations which can cause prolonged legal battles,” said Cheeks.

This justification did not do much to appease the detractors who alleged that Trump’s complaints were thin.

Vice-president Kamala Harris speaks to the “60-minute” correspondent Bill Whitaker.

(CBS News)

Paramount rules “will remain memories as one of the most shameful capitulations in the press to a president of history,” said Seth Stern, Director of Defense of the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Paramount said the agreement with Trump included a release of threatened defamation allegations.

But it is not clear that the headache of Paramount will disappear.

Three leftist American senators-Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), And Ron Wyden (D-ear.) Plus over the decision of Paramount.

In May, the senators sent a letter strongly written to the shareholder of Paramount, Redstone. They warned that a regulation could be considered to be united an elected official to earn a favorable regulatory treatment with regard to the merger of Skydance.

“It could be corruption in sight,” Warren said in a statement on Wednesday. “I call a complete investigation to find out if anti-corruption laws have been raped or not.”

“When the Democrats resume power, I will first be online to ask for federal charges,” Wyden wrote separately in an article on the Bluesky social media site. “In the meantime, state prosecutors should make managers of companies that have sold our response to democracy in court.”

Some journalists said they feared that the regulations could have a scary effect, especially among press organizations that lack deep pockets or who have cases unrelated to the federal government.

“CBS News can withstand financial success, but smaller editorial rooms confronted with similar legal threats could be pushed on the edge,” said Tim Richardson, director of journalism and disinformation at the Pen for profit America, in a press release.

“The danger is clear,” said Richardson, describing the “spin -free capitulation” settlement.

“Enjusted politicians and powerful actors will feel more free than ever of armaments of prosecution and to put pressure on regulatory pressure with silence and to censor independent journalism.”