The Federal Communications Commission received a formal complaint on Oct. 16 from the Center for American Rights requesting an investigation into possible
news distortion at CBS News. Weeks later, President Donald Trump filed a giant lawsuit against CBS, claiming $10 billion in damages and accusing the network of “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference.”
At issue: Bill Whitaker’s “60 Minutes” interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, which
apparently underwent significant edits to make the Democrat appear intelligible and concise — possibly with the intention of misleading viewers ahead of the 2024 election.
Last month, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr rejected CBS’ bid to dismiss the “news distortion” complaint concerning its Harris interview. On Monday, he delivered the network some more bad news, noting that the FCC is actively investigating the allegation of “news distortion” and that “all options remain on the table,”
reported Reuters.
‘We’re just going to apply the law.’
Some “options” could prove a real headache for CBS owner Paramount Global, which is seeking regulatory approval for its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. The FCC could, for instance, block the merger.
“We’re simply focused on the record that’s before us,” said Carr, who reopened the probe in January. “We’re just going to apply the law and the facts.”
Reuters indicated that CBS did not immediately provide comment.
While Paramount faces scrutiny from without, it also faces resentment from within.
“60 Minutes” talking head Scott Pelley opined Sunday on the April 20 resignation of the show’s executive producer, Bill Owens, and
complained on air about changes at Paramount amid its talks with Trump to settle the lawsuit and attempts to complete the SkyDance merger.
“It was hard on [Owens] and it was hard on us,” said Pelley. “But he did it for us — and you.”
‘No one here is happy.’
Blaze News
previously reported that Owens noted in a memo to staff that he could no longer run the show in an “independent” fashion.
“Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ’60 Minutes,’ right for the audience,” wrote Owens.
Pelley, continuing with his brief hagiography of Owens, said, “Stories we’ve pursued for 57 years are often controversial: lately, the Israel-Gaza war and the Trump administration. Bill made sure they were accurate and fair. He was tough that way.”
“But our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways,” said Pelley. “None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”
The talking head noted that “no one here is happy” about Owen’s departure, claiming that his departure demonstrated “he was the right person to lead ’60 Minutes’ all along.”
‘They should lose their license!’
The New York Times
reported that representatives for Paramount and President Trump are engaged in settlement talks and that mediation is expected to kick off this week.
Trump noted in an April 13 post on Truth Social, “I am so honored to be suing 60 Minutes, CBS Fake News, and Paramount, over their fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting. They did everything possible to illegally elect Kamala, including completely and corruptly changing major answers to Interview questions, but it just didn’t work for them.”
“They are not a ‘News Show,’ but a dishonest Political Operative simply disguised as ‘News,’ and must be responsible for what they have done, and are doing,” continued the president. “They should lose their license! Hopefully, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as headed by its Highly Respected Chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior.”
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Cbs news, Cbs, Scott pelley, Kamala harris, Donald trump, Trump, Brendan carr, Fcc, Federal communications commission, Fake news, Paramount, Skydance, Politics
