The midnight settlement between Paramount Global and President Donald Trump was greeted by CBS News employees with what one called a reaction of “disgust and relief.”
Disgust, because universally within CBS News and at 60 Minutes, the lawsuit (which was about the editing of an interview the program conducted with former Vice President Kamala Harris) was perceived as baseless, and a multimillion dollar settlement cut by corporate executives is seen as unwarranted. Relief because the months-long melodrama over the suit appears to be over (though there are still some big loose ends that need to be tied).
Perhaps most importantly, there is what sounds like widespread relief that CBS or the program will not be forced to apologize for something that they do not believe warrants an apology. Or as Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks emphasized at the company’s shareholder meeting Wednesday morning: “Yes, the company has agreed in principle to settle the lawsuit, and as reported, it does not include an apology.”
CBS News chief Tom Cibrowski also emphasized that there is no apology on an editorial call with staff Wednesday morning, and thanked employees for tuning out the noise as they did their jobs.
If there was going to be a revolt at 60 Minutes, as some insiders feared, a forced apology could have been a tipping point. The agreement to release full transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates is not perceived to be nearly as troubling as anything that insinuated that the show made a mistake with how it handled the Harris interview.
Nonetheless, the settlement “threatens journalists’ ability to do their job reporting on powerful public figures,” the Writers Guild of America East said in a statement Wednesday. The WGAE represents many staff on 60 Minutes.
So why settle?
“Look, companies often settle litigation to avoid the high and somewhat unpredictable cost of legal defense, the risk of an adverse judgment that could result in significant financial as well as reputational damage, and the disruption to business operations that prolonged legal battles can cause,” Cheeks said. “A settlement offers a negotiated resolution that allows companies to focus on their core objectives, rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction.”
And yet there remain unanswered questions, two big ones, specifically: Succession at 60 Minutes, and fear about the future of CBS News.
Who will succeed Bill Owens, the show’s venerable former executive producer, who resigned in April as corporate executives sought to assert more control over the newsmagazine, which has long operated with a degree of independence from the rest of CBS News.
Shortly after Owens resigned, all of the 60 Minutes correspondents sent a letter to CBS chief George Cheeks requesting that Tanya Simon, a longtime producer on the show and daughter of late correspondent Bob Simon, be named permanent EP. CBS has declined to name a permanent successor, and staff on the show are hoping that with the suit resolved Simon gets the nod, and if not, to understand why.
Wendy McMahon, who had been leading CBS News and Stations, also resigned, telling staff that, “It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward.” Both Owens and McMahon are said to have opposed a settlement, but were also strongly opposed to any sort of apology.
And staff are quietly dreading what changes new ownership could bring to the show, or to CBS News writ large. Photos of Skydance CEO and incoming Paramount CEO David Ellison sitting a few feet from Trump at a recent UFC event in New Jersey have been making the rounds in the newsroom at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th, and at the 60 Minutes offices across the street.
“I’m already beginning to think about mourning, grieving. But I’m holding out hope,” 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl told The New Yorker. “I know there’s going to be a settlement. I know there’s going to be some money exchanged. I know that. And then we will hopefully still be around, turning a new page, and finding out what that new page is gonna look like.”
Trump, in a press avail last month, told reporters, “Ellison’s great, he’ll do a great job with it,” when asked about the looming Skydance takeover.
While Ellison and Paramount’s incoming president Jeff Shell have talked about CBS as a crown jewel asset, Shell has also been clear that it needs to be run more efficiently, and broadcast news divisions have long been loss leaders, defined by brand-defining credibility rather than profit-driven motives.
On Wednesday morning another veteran media executive joked that Trump’s presidential library could be adding a 60 Minutes wing whenever it opens its doors.
In addition to Paramount, Trump has settled other lawsuits with The Walt Disney Co. (over comments made by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos), tech giant Meta over suspensions on Instagram and Facebook after Jan. 6, and X, the platform owned by Elon Musk over a suspension.
Between the four companies, Trump has secured about $60 million earmarked for the museum, after legal fees.
