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** OPINION
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** How much is Paramount offering Donald Trump to settle the lawsuit?
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President Donald Trump, talking to reporters in the Oval Office earlier this week. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Last October, right before the presidential election, Bill Whitaker of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” did an interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. It was part of the show’s tradition — to interview the presidential candidates.

Republican candidate Donald Trump, however, turned down an interview for “60 Minutes”. Then he got mad about the Harris interview.

He sued CBS’s owner, Paramount, for $20 billion, claiming CBS News intentionally edited the interview to make Harris look good and help her win the presidency.

Most legal experts have said all along that Trump has no case.

Yet here we are, with reports that Paramount’s higher ups are looking to settle the case with Trump. That decision drew swift condemnation from inside the network and outside as well. While it isn’t the sole reason, “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens and Wendy McMahon, the president of CBS News and Stations, have resigned, it is reported that Owens and McMahon are adamant that Paramount not settle with Trump, nor apologize for anything.

So why, if legal experts say Trump has no case, is Paramount talking about a settlement? Simple. It’s strictly business. Paramount and Skydance are in the midst of a merger and need government (i.e. Trump) approval for the sale to go through.

Both sides of the legal battle are talking settlement, but it doesn’t appear that an agreement is close.

The Wall Street Journal’s Jessica Toonkel and Josh Dawsey reported ([link removed]) that after a month of negotiations, Paramount offered $15 million to settle the case, but Trump’s team wants more than $25 million. It also wants an apology from CBS News as part of the deal.

My guess? Trump wants the apology more than the money so he can say, “See? I’m right, and CBS News admitted it was wrong.” It offers another opportunity for Trump to tout his claims that the media is biased against him. That’s why so many in the industry don’t want Paramount to settle, or apologize. Also, it’s been reported by The Journal ([link removed]) that McMahon’s unwillingness to issue Trump an apology was one of the reasons for tension between her and corporate.

So where did Paramount come up with the $15 million figure?

Toonkel and Dawsey noted, “Disney in December settled a defamation lawsuit ([link removed]) against ABC News and star anchor George Stephanopoulos by contributing $15 million to Trump’s presidential foundation or museum and to pay $1 million in legal fees to Trump’s lawyer. Stephanopoulos had said on air that Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. A federal jury determined Trump was liable for sexual abuse.”

Oh, and to add a bit more to Trump and CBS, The Associated Press’ David Bauder has “Trump suffered ‘mental anguish’ from disputed CBS News interview with Harris, lawyer says.” ([link removed])


** Major layoffs
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Business Insider laid off 21% of its staff on Thursday. The media company laid off 8% of its employees early last year and 10% in April of 2023. It’s not clear exactly how many employees were included in this round of layoffs, but in 2023, the outlet had more than 800 employees worldwide.

In a memo to staff ([link removed]) , Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng called it a “difficult day.” She added that the company was “scaling back on categories that once performed well on other platforms but no longer drive meaningful readership or aren’t areas where we can lead.”

She continued, “This is a new Business Insider. It’s more focused. It’s intentional. And it’s working. More broadly though, the media industry is at a crossroads. Business models are under pressure, distribution is unstable and competition for attention is fiercer than ever. At the same time, there’s a huge opportunity for companies who harness AI first. Our strategy is strong, but we don’t have the luxury of time. The pace of change combined with the opportunity ahead demands bold, focused action — and it’s our chance to lead the pack.”

Business Insider is a property of Axel Springer. Insider Union and The NewsGuild of New York had an angry response ([link removed]) to the layoffs, calling it “another example of Axel Springer’s brazen pivot away from journalism toward greed.”

They wrote, “Let’s be clear: This is far from anything new. This is the third round of layoffs in as many years and it is unacceptable that union members and other talented coworkers are again paying the price for the strategic failures of Business Insider’s leadership. Axel Springer is a multi-billion dollar firm whose digital outlets and media businesses generate the majority of its revenue. The layoffs of our talented co-workers and union members is another example of Axel Springer’s brazen pivot away from journalism toward greed. Shockingly, in the same email announcing the layoffs, management also says it's ‘going all-in on Al,’ patting themselves on the back about Al use in our newsroom. To say this was tone-deaf to include in an email on layoffs would be an understatement.”


** Let’s get ready to rumble
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Ben Stiller, right, and Timothée Chalamet, left, attend Game 4 of the playoff games between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks in Indianapolis last Tuesday. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Sports host Pat McAfee is no stranger to making media news, but this week, it turned into a celebrity-filled dustup involving Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, Timothée Chalamet and John Mellencamp.

Let’s start at the beginning. Lee, Stiller and Chalamet are all huge New York Knicks fans. Earlier this week, they all were at Game 4 of the Knicks playoff series in Indianapolis against the Indiana Pacers. McAfee, who hosts his own afternoon show on ESPN, lives in Indianapolis and is a big Pacers fan.

Before the fourth quarter of Game 4, McAfee, who was at the game, was handed a microphone to rile up the crowd. He went on a WWE-style performance, which is not surprising because also is a WWE announcer. While caught up in the emotions, McAfee screamed to the crowd, “Spike Lee is here. Ben Stiller is here. Timothée Chalamet is here. Let’s send these sons of b—--- back to New York with their ears bleeding.” To be clear, what McAfee said was only for those in attendance; it was not carried on national TV.

When aggregators picked up what McAfee said, however, many didn’t include the “with their ears bleeding” part. It just came out that McAfee said to send them back to New York.

McAfee said on his show the next day ([link removed]) that he had nothing but “mad respect” and “all love” for the celebrities showing their Knicks support. He said he was merely trying to pump up the crowd and meant no insult. He even claimed that Chalamet was smiling, seemingly getting that it was all just for fun.

Still, it became a bit of a thing when Stiller responded to the McAfee video by saying, “Yes. Weird. We were happy to be there and cheer our team and other than that Indy fans were awesome.”

Stiller commented again during an interview on SNY’s “The Putback with Ian Begley.” It appears Stiller really isn’t that upset.

Stiller said of McAfee, “I have to say, I was not familiar with his game. I did not know that was coming. I’m a casual football fan. I know he was like a field goal kicker? Placekicker?”

Stiller was told McAfee was a punter. And then after he asked if McAfee was a wrestler, Stiller was told McAfee was a wrestling announcer.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” Stiller said. “I did know that Timothée had been on his show. And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s your boy. That’s your guy.’ So when that happened, I was a little bit like, ‘Whoa.’ But the WWE aspect of it, I get it. It’s just not the way it happens in New York.”

So, it seems like a little deal, but no big deal.

Except, Mellencamp — the famed singer-songwriter — is well-known for being an Indiana guy and he's a Pacers fan. He took to social media to apologize to the New York celebrities.

In a tweet ([link removed]) , Mellencamp wrote, “Hoosier Hospitality … I was embarrassed when somebody, under whose direction I don't know, called out some of the people who had made the trip from New York to support their team — and in turn, support our team. The audience booed these people. I'd say that was not Hoosier Hospitality. One could say it's poor, poor sportsmanship. I was not proud to be a Hoosier, and I've lived here my entire life. On behalf of most Hoosiers, I would like to apologize for our poor behavior. I'm sure the Pacers had nothing to do with this smackdown.”

In the end, it’s much ado about nothing, but it’s still fun because it’s not really that serious.


** Media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review
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* Today will be Lester Holt’s final day as anchor of the “NBC Nightly News.” Tom Llamas will take over starting Monday. Holt will be a guest on this morning’s “Today” show. He also will continue in his role as anchor of NBC’s “Dateline.”
* The Minnesota Star’s Kim Hyatt with “Read and weep: Four newspapers in northwest Minnesota shutter.” ([link removed])
* The Los Angeles Times’ Stephen Battaglio with “Nicolle Wallace launches ‘The Best People’ podcast for MSNBC as spinoff looms.” ([link removed]) Battaglio writes, “Each week on ‘The Best People,’ starting Monday, Wallace will have lengthy conversations with actors, musicians, thought leaders and other figures outside of politics. The guest on the first episode is actor and fellow podcaster Jason Bateman followed by Sarah Jessica Parker, music producer Jimmy Jam, folk singer Joan Baez and Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers in coming weeks.”
* Mediaite’s Alex Griffing with “FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino Brutally Mocked For Going on Television to Complain About How Hard His Job Is.” ([link removed])
* The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin with “The New York Times Strikes AI Licensing Deal With Amazon.” ([link removed]) And here’s the story ([link removed]) from the Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum and Cade Metz.
* Fox Weather, Fox News’ streaming channel, will air a live special on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. called "Hurricane HQ: Eye on the Season." It's timed with the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season and will include interviews with hurricane experts. Fox Weather meteorologist Ian Oliver will host the live three-hour special from Caddy’s Treasure Island, a beachfront restaurant near St. Petersburg, Fla., on the Gulf of Mexico. The restaurant was impacted by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024.
* Nieman Lab’s Neel Dhanesha with “Project Push creates an archive of news alerts from around the world.” ([link removed])
* The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch with “As ‘NBA on TNT’ prepares for its finale, an appreciation for its legacy and contribution.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Ed Shanahan with “The Hiker Who Couldn’t Be Found.” ([link removed])
* Finally, this is fun. Then again, maybe it’s depressing, too. It’s The Associated Press with “Find out how much time it would take for you to make as much as these highly paid CEOs.” ([link removed])


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