There has been resolution in the lawsuit filed against Paramount by the sitting US President Donald Trump.
Paramount has agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle the lawsuit over the editing of an interview on the US version of 60 Minutes, which airs on CBS. Trumps contention was that the editing of an interview with former Presidential candidate Kamala Harris was edited in a way that caused his winning campaign harm.
The payment will cover Trump’s legal fees and costs. Paramount says the money, minus the legal fees, will be paid to Trump’s future presidential library. The lawsuit filed by Trump called for a $20 billion fee to cover damages.
As has been widely reported, legal professionals and commentators have said that the lawsuit was baseless, but suggested that Paramount was eager to reach a settlement to clear a pathway for a merger between Paramount and Skydance. For the merger to go through, the Trump-controlled FCC needs to approve the transfer of broadcast licenses between the two parties.
In December last year, rival network ABC, which is owned by Disney, settled a lawsuit at the same dollar value over an inaccurate on-air comment by Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos that Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E Jean Carroll. ABC settled for $15 million, along with an additional $1 million in legal fees.
As part of the settlement with Trump, Paramount was not required to issue an apology, but will release transcripts of 60 Minutes interviews with presidential candidates in the future after similar interviews have aired.
The lawsuit has resulted in considerable friction between CBS, Paramount, and the staff working on the 60 Minutes program. In April, Executive Producer Bill Owens resigned over the expected settlement. It prompted an on-air statement by 60 Minutes presenter Scott Pelley said that the staff were not happy.
“None of our stories has been blocked,” Pelley said in the segment. “But Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires. No one here is happy about it. But in resigning, Bill proved he was the right person to lead ‘60 Minutes’ all along.”
The Australian 60 Minutes program airs on Nine locally and is a distinct production from the US show. Paramount owns Network 10 in Australia, along with other international assets.
UPDATE: PARAMOUNT’s PERSPECTIVE
Paramount has issued a statement to Mediaweek about the settlement:
Paramount has reached an agreement in principle to resolve the lawsuit filed by President Trump and Representative Jackson in the Northern District of Texas and a threatened defamation action concerning a separate 60 Minutes report.
Summary of terms
Under the terms of the settlement, which were proposed by the mediator, Paramount will pay $16M in total, which includes plaintiffs’ fees and costs, and except for fees and costs, will be allocated to the future presidential library.
No amount will be paid directly or indirectly to President Trump or Rep. Jackson personally. The settlement will include a release of all claims regarding any CBS reporting through the date of the settlement, including the Texas action and the threatened defamation action.
The Company has agreed that in the future, 60 Minutes will release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.
The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret.
Reminder of Paramount’s previous statement on the Skydance transaction:
This lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process. We will abide by the legal process to defend our case.