Skydance and Paramount Merger

The sole Democratic appointee left at the FCC (there are two vacancies, one of a myriad of examples) is opposing the merger of Skydance Media and CBS parent company Paramount. This merger has raised many red flags. 

She called Skydance “cowardly” for agreeing to adopt “never-before-seen controls over newsroom decisions and editorial content” that she said violate the First Amendment.

Lots of people think the merger has something to do with Stephen Colbert not being resigned next year. Senator Wyden raised various red flags. Paramount decided to sacrifice the First Amendment to help things along. 

Let's not forget about that. They had a settlement in a frivolous Trump lawsuit (lawfare is okay if Trump does it) involving typical news editing. This helped feed the conspiracy theorists/crybabies that the media is anti-Trump. The link shows that that was not the only such "business decision" that the media has made to help Trump. 

On Tuesday, as part of the review process, Skydance committed to undergo “a comprehensive review of CBS” after the completion of the transaction and to create an ombudsman role for at least two years to handle complaints of bias at the network. The company also pledged to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, an action Carr has said is a prerequisite for any merger approval.

This paragraph from the Washington Post article linked above caught my eye. Brendan Carr, who was first appointed by Trump 1.0, is now the leader of the FCC. His m.o. is suggested by his recent potshot at Stephen Colbert. Going after DEI, a Trump bugaboo, is more Trumpian bullshit. 

DEI means "diversity, equity, and inclusion." Nothing is wrong with those things. The attacks on certain DEI initiatives are "anti-woke" bullshit. It also allows the Trump Administration to do things like control universities. 

The NPR article linked above provides some scary details involving Carr's efforts to interfere with the news. The ultimate owners of newspapers and television news programs are not stepping up against that. When Rupert Murdoch is the hero (low bar) of the day, you are in trouble.

Anna Gomez, the Democrat appointed FCC commissioner, is due to serve her term into next year. The Federal Communications Commission is allegedly an independent agency. Recent Supreme Court shadow docket orders show the limits of that. Trump has two more vacancies to fill. The "rules" say one of them must be a non-Republican. 

Let's end with a discussion of what should be going on here. The settlements should not have been made. They should have been deemed against the public interest as a violation of freedom of the press. 

Financial regulation should be on guard about this merger. The FCC should also oppose it. At the very least, the FCC should not be talking about "DEI" (except to praise it) or corruptly interfering with news decisions. Carr is doing impeachment worthy stuff.

Better choices for FCC commissioner, please. Plus, there should not be two vacancies. The FCC didn't even have a quorum until the third commissioner was recently confirmed. Important positions should be filled in a consistent and timely manner. 

The whole process of filling vacancies, including delays in the confirmation process, is something we should address. That includes not having as many confirmations. Many minor positions should not require Senate approval. Others, like an ambassador to a small nation, might be constitutionally necessary. Nonetheless, it should be possible to confirm quickly. 

I appreciate that the one voice of sanity at the FCC, someone (of course) appointed by President Biden, is the voice of reason. Remember. 

Call out what Trump is doing. Find ways to address it. Provide another way.