The media was abuzz at the Paramount Studios lot as tech giant Oracle tycoon, David Ellison, arrived for his first day as CEO of the media company. According to CNN, the former Skydance leader met with the press and members of his CBS News team upon the tumultuous completion of the Skydance-Paramount merger.
At a press conference this afternoon, CNN reports that Ellison reportedly expressed his dedication to improving Paramount’s streaming arm, vowing to replace antiquated technology. He and his new president, Jeff Shell, felt confident in expressing their goals for the company’s sports, gaming, and entertainment sectors, with Shell stating, “There’s a lot of plumbing that needs to be fixed at this company.” However, many attendees were more preoccupied with questioning him about President Donald Trump’s influence on the company’s news sector.
Trump and his administration appeared to be heavily involved during the Skydance-Paramount merger talks. Not only was FCC Chairman Brendan Carr scrutinizing networks for alleged DEI practices, but Trump also launched a lawsuit against CBS’s 60 Minutes program, alleging biased coverage. CBS News would settle the lawsuit, awarding Trump $16 million toward his presidential library. (ABC News settled a similar lawsuit with the president earlier this year.) Paramount was also forced to install a two-year ombudsman to monitor the fairness of news coverage. Many journalists and lawmakers feared this arrangement, happening just before the merger’s approval, felt like an illegal bribe.
Shell insisted the ombudsman was nothing more than “a transparency vehicle, not an oversight vehicle,” according to CNN.
Visiting the CBS News studio, Ellison subtly mentioned the 60 Minutes faux pas, CNN reports. Rather than focus on that, he reassured Paramount’s news division would rely on “fact-based journalism” and hopes CBS News can “speak to the biggest audience possible.” He touted that they will aim to reach 70% of viewers “from center left to center right,” with their coverage.
According to CNN, Ellison misstepped answering questions regarding the president’s remarks that Paramount channels would broadcast PSAs championing his administration’s agenda. He was also silent on reports that CBS News was allegedly absorbing Bari Weiss’s news startup, The Free Press.
Ellison asked that onlookers “judge us by the work,” according to CNN, and added that “We’re focused on the future.”
CBS News is not the only Trump-tainted division in Paramount’s bag. Comedy Central’s South Park and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert have exchanged barbs with the president. Creators Trey Parker (BASEketball, The Book of Mormon) and Matt Stone (That’s My Bush!, Orgazmo) skewered Trump in their 27th-season premiere, to much acclaim, and CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show after months of political satire at Trump’s expense from Colbert.
