{"id":3806,"date":"2026-03-08T19:09:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/?p=3806"},"modified":"2026-03-08T19:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:37:27","slug":"abcs-and-cbss-settlements-with-trump-are-a-dangerous-step-toward-the-commander-in-chief-becoming-the-editor-in-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/abcs-and-cbss-settlements-with-trump-are-a-dangerous-step-toward-the-commander-in-chief-becoming-the-editor-in-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"ABC\u2019s and CBS\u2019s settlements with Trump are a dangerous step toward the commander in chief becoming the editor-in-chief"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/abcs-and-cbss-settlements-with-trump-are-a-dangerous-step-toward-the-commander-in-chief-becoming-the-editor-in-chief-261006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Michael J. Socolow, Professor of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p>It was a surrender widely foreseen. For months, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/media\/5323532-trump-60-minutes-cbs-news-offer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rumors abounded<\/a> that Paramount would eventually settle <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/07\/02\/nx-s1-5454790\/cbs-settlement-trump-60-minutes-harris-interview-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the seemingly frivolous<\/a> lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump concerning editorial decisions in the production of a CBS interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>On July 2, 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/02\/business\/media\/paramount-trump-60-minutes-lawsuit.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">those rumors proved true<\/a>: The settlement between Paramount and Trump\u2019s legal team resulted in CBS\u2019s parent company agreeing to pay $16 million to the future Donald Trump Library \u2013 the $16 million included Trump\u2019s legal fees \u2013 in exchange for ending the lawsuit. Despite the opinion of many media law scholars and practicing attorneys <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/07\/02\/paramount-settlement-press-freedom-00437677\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who considered the lawsuit meritless<\/a>, Shari Redstone, the largest shareholder of Paramount, yielded to Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Redstone had been trying to sell Paramount to Skydance Media since July 2024, but the transaction was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/business\/story\/2025-03-26\/inside-paramounts-bumpy-sale-the-president-a-scion-and-a-possible-sheikh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">delayed by issues involving government approval<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p>Specifically, when the Trump administration assumed power in January 2025, the new Federal Communications Commission had no legal obligation to facilitate, without scrutiny, the transfer of the CBS network\u2019s broadcast licenses for its owned-and-operated TV stations to new ownership.  <\/p>\n<p>The FCC, under newly installed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/about\/leadership\/brendan-carr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Republican Chairman Brendan Carr<\/a>, was fully aware of the issues in the legal conflict between Trump and CBS at the time Paramount needed FCC approval for the license transfers. Without a settlement, the Paramount-Skydance deal remained in jeopardy.<\/p>\n<p>Until it wasn\u2019t. <\/p>\n<p>At that point, Paramount joined Disney in implicitly apologizing for journalism produced by their TV news divisions.  <\/p>\n<p>Earlier in 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/12\/16\/nx-s1-5229585\/to-settle-lawsuit-abc-agrees-to-give-15-million-to-trumps-presidential-library\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Disney had settled a different Trump lawsuit<\/a> with ABC News in exchange for a $15 million donation to the future Trump Library. That lawsuit involved a dispute over the wording of the actions for which Trump was found liable in a civil lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><iframe title=\"&#039;I Will Sue Them!&#039;: Trump Lambasts CBS Over Kamala Harris &#039;60 Minutes&#039; Interview\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uPgJ5vIyt24?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump said the CBS interview with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was \u2018fraudulent interference with an election.\u2019<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s not certain what the ABC and CBS settlements portend, but many are predicting they <a href=\"https:\/\/knightcolumbia.org\/blog\/paramounts-trump-lawsuit-settlement-curtain-call-for-the-first-amendment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">will produce a \u201cchilling effect<\/a>\u201d within the network news divisions. Such an outcome would arise from fear of new litigation, and it would install a form of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/entertainment\/media\/2025\/07\/02\/paramount-trump-60-minutes-lawsuit\/84440949007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">internal self-censorship<\/a> that would influence network journalists when deciding whether the pursuit of investigative stories involving the Trump administration would be worth the risk.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has apparently succeeded where earlier presidents failed.  <\/p>\n<h2>Presidential pressure<\/h2>\n<p>From Jimmy Carter trying to get CBS anchor Walter Cronkite <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=5m0kyPc18l4C&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=guests+of+the+ayatollah&amp;hl=en&amp;newbks=1&amp;newbks_redir=0&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjpga7Yv7OOAxWlFVkFHdYLG20QuwV6BAgFEAg#v=snippet&amp;q=Cronkite&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to stop ending<\/a> his evening newscasts with the number of days American hostages were being held in Iran to Richard Nixon\u2019s administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nixonlibrary.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/virtuallibrary\/documents\/jan10\/016.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">threatening the broadcast licenses<\/a> of The Washington Post\u2019s TV stations to weaken Watergate reporting, previous presidents sought to apply editorial pressure on broadcast journalists.  <\/p>\n<p>But in the cases of Carter and Nixon, it didn\u2019t work. The broadcast networks\u2019 focus on both Watergate and the Iran hostage crisis remained unrelenting.  <\/p>\n<p>Nor were Nixon and Carter the first presidents seeking to influence, and possibly control, network news.  <\/p>\n<p>President Lyndon Johnson, who owned local TV and radio stations in Austin, Texas, <a href=\"https:\/\/millercenter.org\/the-presidency\/secret-white-house-tapes\/conversation-frank-stanton-august-29-1968\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">regularly complained<\/a> to his old friend, CBS President Frank Stanton, about what he perceived as biased TV coverage. Johnson was so furious with the CBS and NBC reporting from Vietnam, he once argued that their newscasts seemed \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/05\/30\/opinion\/lyndon-johnson-vietnam-war.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">controlled by the Vietcong<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet none of these earlier presidents won millions from the corporations that aired ethical news reporting in the public interest. <\/p>\n<p>Before Trump, these conflicts mostly occurred backstage and informally, allowing the broadcasters to sidestep the damage to their credibility should any surrender to White House administrations be made public. In a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/@johnfdickerson\/note\/c-131566553?r=blj0&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;utm_source=notes-share-actionQp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reporter\u2019s Notebook<\/a>\u201d on the CBS Evening News the night of the Trump settlement, anchor John Dickerson summarized the new dilemma succinctly: \u201cCan you hold power to account when you\u2019ve paid it millions? Can an audience trust you when it thinks you\u2019ve traded away that trust?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe audience will decide that,\u201d Dickerson continued, concluding: \u201cOur job is to show up to honor what we witness on behalf of the people we witness it for.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><iframe title=\"CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite (April 3, 1980)\" width=\"1170\" height=\"878\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HUNpYD9RGsY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">During the Iran hostage crisis, CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite ended every broadcast with the number of days the hostages had been held captive.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Holding power to account<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s an adage in TV news: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brainyquote.com\/quotes\/oprah_winfrey_757288\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">You\u2019re only as good as your last show<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Soon, Skydance Media will assume control over the Paramount properties, and the new CBS will be on the airwaves.<\/p>\n<p>When the licenses for KCBS in Los Angeles, WCBS in New York and the other CBS-owned-and-operated stations are transferred, we\u2019ll learn the long-term legacy of corporate capitulation. But for now, it remains too early to judge tomorrow\u2019s newscasts.  <\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/cmj.umaine.edu\/faculty-staff\/michael-j-socolow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a scholar<\/a> of broadcast journalism and a former broadcast journalist, I recommend evaluating programs like \u201c60 Minutes\u201d and the \u201cCBS Evening News\u201d on the record they will compile over the next three years \u2013 and the record they compiled over the past 50. The same goes for \u201cABC World News Tonight\u201d and other ABC News programs. <\/p>\n<p>A major complicating factor for the Paramount-Skydance deal was the fact that \u201c60 Minutes\u201d has, over the past six months, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/what-records-show-about-migrants-sent-to-salvadoran-prison-60-minutes-transcript\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">broken major scoops<\/a> embarrassing to the Trump administration, which led <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/tv\/news\/60-minutes-scott-pelley-rebukes-paramount-bill-owens-exit-1236379735\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to additional scrutiny<\/a> by its corporate ownership. Judged by its reporting in the first half of 2025, \u201c60 Minutes\u201d has upheld its record of critical and independent reporting in the public interest.   <\/p>\n<p>If audience members want to see ethical, independent and professional broadcast journalism that holds power to account, then it\u2019s the audience\u2019s responsibility to tune it in. The only way to learn the consequences of these settlements is by watching future programming rather than dismissing it beforehand.  <\/p>\n<p>The journalists working at ABC News and CBS News understand the legacy of their organizations, and they are also aware of how their owners have cast suspicion on the news divisions\u2019 professionalism and credibility. As Dickerson asserted, they plan to \u201cshow up\u201d regardless of the stain, and I\u2019d bet they\u2019re more motivated to redeem their reputations than we expect.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think reporters, editors and producers plan to let Donald Trump become their editor-in-chief over the next three years. But we\u2019ll only know by watching.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>This article written by <strong>Michael J. Socolow, Professor of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine<\/strong> and is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/abcs-and-cbss-settlements-with-trump-are-a-dangerous-step-toward-the-commander-in-chief-becoming-the-editor-in-chief-261006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Michael J. Socolow, Professor of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine It was a surrender widely foreseen. For months, rumors abounded that Paramount would eventually settle the seemingly frivolous lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump concerning editorial decisions in the production of a CBS interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024. On [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":3754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}