Why Paramount’s lawsuit settlement with President Trump is so horrific | Opinion

There aren’t enough bad words in the English language to describe the decision by the parent company of CBS News to pay a bribe to President Donald Trump.

Paramount’s unprecedented lawsuit settlement with a sitting president is horrific.

Vile.

Awful.

Abominable.

Atrocious.

Ghastly.

Horrid.

It’s downright disgusting Paramount is paying Trump $16 million for one of the most routine decisions in journalism and media overall.

In October, the venerable news program “60 Minutes” aired video of a partial answer by then-Vice President Kamala Harris to tease the broadcast of a fuller interview the next day. It then used a different part of the same answer during the interview itself.

It’s called editing. Every news and entertainment program you love does it — because it would be impossible to provide you clarity on any subject without it.

Interviewers sit down with subjects for extended periods of time but do not often broadcast entire interviews out of respect for the viewer’s time. The most ethical outlets broadcast the most relevant, revealing and representative portions because they want you to know the truth.

This process is by definition subjective, but there is no hidden agenda — though there are plenty of unethical outlets who feed you out-of-context quotes and images for clicks and to prey upon your anger and other emotions.

In this case, Trump sued “60 Minutes” for supposed deceptive editing to improve Harris’ image, which wasn’t true but which — the editing part — is the clear right of the program under the First Amendment.

That’s it. That was the crux of the lawsuit: Trump was suing “60 Minutes” because it made an editorial choice he didn’t like.

I can’t think of a lawsuit more frivolous and without merit, the kind South Carolina and other states have tried to legislate out of existence because it’s an abuse of the system and because it makes the system itself less efficient and trustworthy.

For the sycophants who are happy President Trump sued, can you imagine President Barack Obama suing Fox News because he didn’t like how it edited an interview with Mitt Romney during the 2012 election?

You can’t imagine it. Because it is unimaginable. The entire press corps — left, right, “objective” and independent — would have come down on Obama like a ton of bricks had he even considered such a thing. Because it would have been an insane thing to do.

No matter. Paramount is giving Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit. Reports suggest there might even be a side deal in which CBS will provide another $15 million to $20 million of public service ads “to promote causes by the president.”

The settlement very much feels like a payoff to the Trump administration, which will be deciding if Paramount will be allowed to benefit from a multi-billion-dollar sale to Hollywood studio Skydance.

It’s an embarrassing development for all news media, especially because it comes on the heels of ABC News capitulating earlier this year with a $15 million lawsuit settlement. The Washington Post’s owner Jeff Bezos also revamped its opinion section four months after he spiked a presidential endorsement of Kamala Harris, all seemingly to appease Trump.

It’s embarrassing for all of us in the media because it leaves the distinct impression that media writ large is either corrupt or weak, or maybe both. That we aren’t ready for a time such as this. That we can be bullied even when the law — and common sense — are on our side.

It matters little that CBS News and ABC News are just two outlets in a vast sea of news options. Critics who have long believed “corporate media” is a sham — only concerned about the rich, wealthy and influential — can point to these two decisions to disparage the media in general.

The CBS decision is another dark moment during a time in which there have already been far too many dark moments.

I’ll end with this: By definition, I am a member of the corporate media, given that I’m employed by the McClatchy News Service.

I have never been pressured to, as my mother used to say, hold my tongue while speaking about Trump or any other powerful person. If that day comes, I would tell you.

Such independence and accountability are guiding lights for the vast majority of my journalistic colleagues, which is why we are horrified by this CBS development more than anyone else.

This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.