The merger between Paramount and Skydance has officially been finalized. The two organizations are now one company. What the future holds is far from clear. There are numerous questions, particularly surrounding CBS as a news organization and whether we might see significant changes to the way news is handled under the new regime. One person with a lot of money riding on the situation recently said no.
CBS made some interesting moves in the months before the merger was finalized, including settling a lawsuit brought by President Trump against 60 Minutes and announcing the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Some analysts suggested the moves were made to help smooth the path toward federal approval of the merger by currying favor with the White House, and thus wonder if CBS News may be compromised going forward.
In a press conference following the finalization of the merger, Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of Redbird (the top investor in the new company), told Deadline that there will be no outside influence on the news for the "simple" reason that it’s a bad investment. Cardinale said…
There’s no way we’re going to try to influence the news, because if you do that, you kill the investment basis. It’s that simple.
One of the requirements set by the FCC in approving the merger was the installation of an ombudsman whose job wouldn't be to take complaints over alleged bias in coverage. The new Paramount team pushed back during the press conference that that position would necessarily influence the news, saying the ombudsman’s job was “transparency,” not “oversight.”
At the end of the day, Redbird is looking for a return on its investment, and if it believes that CBS News as an objective organization will provide that, it’s less likely to influence it. Cardinale feels that when investing in a news organization, independence is the thing that you're really investing in. He went on...
Here’s the deal for a guy like me. Don’t buy into a news organization, whether it’s broadcast or print, if you want to influence it, because that’s just bad business, right, because the kernel of the entire investment thesis is independence and objectivity. If you can’t get your head around that, don’t buy it.
It’s understandable why there are so many questions surrounding the future of CBS News. Following the settlement of the lawsuit with President Trump, Late Show host Stephen Colbert referred to the deal as a “bribe,” and the announcement of the show’s cancellation was only days later. While CBS claimed the decision was purely financial, a lot of people don’t believe that, as evidenced by the number of folks who have been flooding Paramount's social media channels with calls to cancel Paramount+.
It will likely take months to see if there is truly a discernible difference in the way CBS News is presented. Certainly, a lot of very interested people will be watching. One who might be is Stephen Colbert himself, who, with his show set to end in May, seemingly has little left to lose.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
