David Ellison is set to take control of two of the biggest news organizations in the U.S. after his Paramount Skydance completes its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, giving him wide influence over the news media landscape.
Experts warn that his promise of editorial independence for CNN and CBS News is a hollow one.
Ellison agreed to create an editorial independence board to oversee the two news outlets as part of Monday's settlement with a coalition of 12 states and a Hollywood writers' union. The group will be made up of five veteran journalists, to "establish guiding editorial and journalism principles for the combined entity's news channels," according to the agreement.
Skepticism abounds. "Genuine oversight of a news organization is provided by its editors and owners. If they are not committed to doing things honorably themselves, nobody they appoint and pay can possibly be expected to do it for them," said Dan Gillmor, a retired journalist and educator.
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"Of course" the board will be toothless, he said.
The Paramount logo is displayed Feb. 26 on one of the studio's structures at the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.
Notably, the board, whose members will be appointed and paid by the combined entity, is not explicitly granted investigative oversight and the binding nature of its decisions is unclear, leaving final authority in the hands of Ellison.
Some of CNN's current and former staff also question the settlement. Prominent journalist Kara Swisher said this year that she plans to leave the network "as soon as I can" due to the Paramount takeover and she dismissed the independence board as a "fig leaf."
"Ellison's record at CBS so far is not encouraging and is even troubling. I think he is a very pleasant person … That hardly matters, as I am only interested in how he behaves as a media owner. So far, I am not impressed," Swisher told Reuters.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the board is a meaningful way to protect the integrity of CNN and CBS.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta departs Monday after giving a news conference in Los Angeles about the Paramount Skydance settlement with California and 11 other states that sued to block its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
'Enforcement gaps'
The settlement also creates an independent monitoring trustee with broad authority over film production and cable-licensing, but the trustee shall have "no role or authority relating to the Combined Entity's news operations."
"That's a remarkable carveout," said Jonathan Peters, a media law professor at the University of Georgia.
He said the settlement is not without legal merit because states have the power to enforce it in federal court, but there is a "significant enforcement gap" regarding editorial independence.
The concerns also are fueled by lawmakers' criticism of Ellison for tailoring news coverage at Paramount-owned CBS News to favor President Donald Trump. Critics fear how he would manage Warner's CNN once it comes under his ownership.
There is also no provision that requires the board's findings and decisions to be made public.
The companies said the board would also resolve internal disputes over reporting bias and disputes between news staff and management at CNN and CBS.
Board members will serve three-year terms and are protected against arbitrary dismissal by a "good cause" removal standard, though the company retains exclusive authority to fill all vacancies.
"It's unclear how the attorneys general or courts can constitutionally hold Paramount accountable for the board's actions or inaction without themselves interfering in content," said Seth Stern, a media lawyer and chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
CNN, Politico and MS NOW are suing the Trump administration after being barred from the White House. Major U.S. networks are also suspending pooled coverage, escalating the fight over press access.
Wall Street Journal precedent
The new owner will get about a six-month window to reshape newsroom leadership before oversight begins, as the board will be established only within 180 days of the merger.
The idea of an independent oversight board is not new. When Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought the Wall Street Journal in 2007, it agreed to establish a special committee to protect the objectivity and independence of its publications.
The group is meant to guard against corporate interference and it must approve changes to the Journal's top editors, but it does not assess or comment on editorial coverage.
Even so, it is considered powerless.
"When Murdoch wanted to install his own loyal lieutenant as top editor in 2008, he just did it, the board was left in the dust," Bill Grueskin, a faculty member at Columbia Journalism School and former deputy managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, said in an emailed response.
Grueskin sees little difference in Ellison's concessions to editorial independence.
"The owner calls the shots," he said. "The responsibilities and rights of Ellison's board are exceptionally vague.”
