{"id":80690,"date":"2025-07-21T13:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T13:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/80690\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T13:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T13:18:12","slug":"in-letter-to-fcc-skydance-chief-david-ellison-commits-to-evenhanded-reporting-at-cbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/80690\/","title":{"rendered":"In Letter to FCC, Skydance Chief David Ellison Commits to Evenhanded Reporting at CBS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tSkydance &#8216;will ensure CBS&#8217;s editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers,&#8217; Ellison writes\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img width=\"736\" height=\"514\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/MixCollage-21-Apr-2025-05-30-PM-7433.jpg\" class=\"w-full wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tBrendan Carr (Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images), CBS studio (Gary Minnaert via Wikimedia Commons)\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-16 ai-optimize-introduction\">Skydance Media chief executive David Ellison recently met with Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr to lobby for the agency&#8217;s approval of Skydance&#8217;s impending acquisition of entertainment giant Paramount. There, Ellison emphasized his &#8220;commitment to unbiased journalism&#8221; and pledged to reflect &#8220;the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers&#8221; at Paramount subsidiary CBS, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/ecfs\/document\/1071757519667\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter describing the meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-17\">Ellison&#8217;s attorney submitted the letter to the FCC on July 17, two days after the meeting. It urges the agency to &#8220;promptly grant&#8221; Skydance&#8217;s acquisition applications and includes descriptions of the sitdown between Ellison and Carr. CBS&#8217;s editorial slant appeared to have been a central topic of conversation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-18\">&#8220;Relatedly, we discussed Skydance&#8217;s commitment to unbiased journalism and its embrace of diverse viewpoints, principles that will ensure CBS&#8217;s editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers,&#8221; Skydance attorney Matthew Brill writes in the letter. &#8220;We likewise noted Skydance&#8217;s commitment to promoting non-discrimination and equal employment opportunity at New Paramount, ensuring the company is fully compliant with law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-19\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2052799 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-20-at-8.28.38\u202fPM-1024x513.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"513\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2052802 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-20-at-8.28.56\u202fPM-1024x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"111\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-20\">The Ellison and Carr meeting came roughly two weeks after Paramount and CBS <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/paramount-cbs-reach-settlement-with-trump-that-could-top-30-mil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">settled a lawsuit<\/a> from President Donald Trump accusing CBS&#8217;s flagship news program, 60 Minutes, of editing an interview last year to benefit then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-21\">Though the settlement was seen as a crucial step in Skydance&#8217;s bid to secure federal approval, its Paramount acquisition has not yet received the green light. Carr has also <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/tv\/news\/fcc-brendan-carr-constrain-network-power-1236387349\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">taken aim<\/a> at diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at national broadcast networks; CBS Studios in April <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/with-the-fcc-scrutinizing-dei-policies-cbs-settles-in-anti-white-discrimination-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">settled a suit<\/a> from a script coordinator who accused the company of using illegal racial quotas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-22\">Any shift toward viewpoint diversity at CBS would likely have a significant impact on the network&#8217;s Israel coverage, which has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of Hamas&#8217;s Oct. 7 massacre.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-23\">Last fall, under then-CEO Wendy McMahon, CBS News reprimanded anchor Tony Dokoupil for violating the network&#8217;s &#8220;editorial standards&#8221; by <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/media\/watch-what-standards-cbs-execs-rebuked-anchors-tough-questions-on-israel-but-let-gayle-kings-softballs-slide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asking tough questions<\/a> of anti-Israel author and left-wing darling Ta-Nehisi Coates. It did no such thing when star anchor and <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/culture\/cbs-journalists-raving-mad-gayle-king-over-yacht-vacation-obamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Obama family confidant<\/a> Gayle King accused the Jewish father of an 8-year-old girl held hostage by Hamas of playing &#8220;politics.&#8221; Coates said King <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jeremymbarr\/status\/1843649372493623661\">approached him ahead of his CBS interview<\/a> to flag questions she planned to ask. McMahon <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/cbs-news-ceo-resigns-amid-internal-unrest-anti-semitism-accusations-and-trumps-20-billion-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">resigned from the network<\/a> in May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-24\">CBS has also worked with terror-tied individuals in the Middle East. One of its producers based in the Gaza Strip, Marwan al-Ghoul, also worked as a public official in the Hamas-controlled territory, a job that brought him into contact with known terrorists, according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/media\/cbs-news-gaza-producer-praised-palestinian-terror-group-and-its-path-of-struggle-and-martyrdom-watchdog-reveals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">investigation<\/a> from watchdog group Honest Reporting. In 2018, al-Ghoul spoke at an official Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine event, where he praised the terror group and its &#8220;path of struggle and martyrdom,&#8221; the investigation found.        <\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-25\">CBS News host Margaret Brennan has had her fair share of controversial exchanges on Israel and Jewish issues. In 2023, she <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/media\/watch-cbss-margaret-brennan-gives-new-meaning-to-the-word-anti-semitic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">suggested<\/a> during an interview with Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R.) that Palestinians cannot be anti-Semitic because &#8220;all Arabs are Semites.&#8221; In February, meanwhile, she <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/media\/margaret-brennan-resumes-resistance-tweeting-after-disastrous-rubio-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">claimed<\/a> during an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Holocaust occurred because Nazis &#8220;weaponized&#8221; free speech.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ai-optimize-26\">A 2024 CBS News editorial memo reportedly instructed staffers to <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/10\/10\/media\/cbs-news-tells-staffers-not-to-report-that-jerusalem-is-part-of-israel-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">refrain from calling Jerusalem<\/a> part of Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Skydance &#8216;will ensure CBS&#8217;s editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers,&#8217; Ellison writes Brendan Carr&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":80691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[51396,15328,26871,171,36397,15329,26873,4352,173,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-80690","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-brendan-carr","9":"tag-cbs","10":"tag-cbs-news","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-fcc","13":"tag-paramount","14":"tag-skydance","15":"tag-trump-administration","16":"tag-tv","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114891423954957623","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}