Journalist Dan Relatively expressed honest disappointment Wednesday in Paramount International, the guardian firm of his former employer CBS Information, for agreeing to settle a lawsuit from President Donald Trump’s administration for $16 million.
“It’s a tragic day for journalism,” Rather told Variety in an interview printed Wednesday. “It’s a tragic day for ‘60 Minutes’ and CBS Information.”
“I hope folks will learn the main points of this and perceive what it was,” he continued. “It was distortion by the president and a kneeling down and saying, ‘sure, sir,’ by billionaire company house owners.”
Trump sued CBS last fall over what he claimed was a deceptively edited “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, his opponent within the 2024 election, and accused the community of “partisan and illegal acts of voter interference.”
Regardless of high-profile resignations at CBS and public concern, together with from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), that the corporate would cave to Trump’s lawsuit, Paramount International agreed earlier this week to pay Trump $16 million. The settlement funds are to be allotted to a future presidential library and won’t be paid personally to Trump.
Relatively, a veteran broadcast journalist who anchored CBS Information for twenty-four years and served as a “60 Minutes” correspondent for a lot of his profession, advised Wednesday that the rich house owners of CBS’s guardian firm lacked ideas.
“Paramount didn’t need to settle,” he argued. “You compromise a lawsuit while you’ve accomplished one thing flawed. ‘60 Minutes’ did nothing flawed. It adopted accepted journalistic practices. Attorneys virtually unanimously mentioned the case wouldn’t rise up in courtroom.”
Left: Evan Agostini/Related Press; Proper: Evan Vucci/Related Press
The deal got here at a precarious time for Paramount International, nevertheless, as the corporate is presently eyeing an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. The merger requires approval from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Fee.
“I used to be disenchanted, however I wasn’t shocked,” Relatively mentioned Wednesday. “Large billionaire businesspeople make choices about cash. We may at all times hope that they’ll make an exception in relation to freedom of the press, nevertheless it wasn’t to be.”
Relatively shared that, in his 60 years as a journalist, he has by no means seen the career face the political threats it’s navigating in the present day. He famous that even “big time” law firms and universities are settling with Trump — and “kneeling the identical approach” as Paramount International.
Relatively added that Trump “knew” the corporate would fold if he saved making use of stress.
“Trump is now forcing a complete information group to pay hundreds of thousands of {dollars} for doing one thing protected by the Structure — which is, in fact, free and unbiased reporting,” he informed Selection. “Now, you’re taking in the present day’s sell-out.”
He concluded, “And that’s what it was: It was a sell-out to extortion by the president.”
