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Washington Post columnist Erik Wemple sharply criticized Paramount on Wednesday for settling with President Donald Trump for $16 million earlier this week over edits made to a CBS News “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris last October.
Wemple argued that Paramount’s settlement sets a dangerous precedent for journalistic integrity and press freedom after capitulating to the president in hopes of protecting its merger with Skydance Media.
The media partnership is subject to the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is currently overseen by Trump-appointed commissioners.
The Washington Post columnist argued that Paramount not only betrayed “60 Minutes” by settling with President Trump, but the American people for setting a dangerous precedent within the media. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Wemple contended that the media giant settled with Trump because it believed the case “could thwart merger approval.”
“Honest journalism requires noting that Paramount’s leaders will never, ever hear the end of this abject decision. Nor should they,” he asserted.
The columnist claimed that Paramount’s settlement “withers” the First Amendment after it “caved prematurely and completely” to Trump’s lawsuit, unlike its subsidiary, CBS News, which cited First Amendment protections in their court filing.
Wemple insisted that media organizations typically settle only when they “screw up” — something he maintains CBS News did not do.
“The settlement doesn’t include an apology, and that’s because there is nothing to apologize for. Its actions under attack in the Trump suit are the subject of great reverence from the First Amendment,” he stated.
BERNIE SANDERS BLASTS PARAMOUNT, SAYS LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT WILL FURTHER EMBOLDEN TRUMP TO ATTACK MEDIA
Last October, Trump sued CBS News and Paramount for $10 billion over allegations of election interference involving the “60 Minutes” interview of then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired weeks before the presidential election (the amount later jumped to $20 billion). (Left: (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images), Center: Screenshot/60Minutes, Right: (Photo by Andy Manis/Getty Images))
Citing the 1974 case Miami Herald Pub. Co. v. Tornillo, in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Herald after they refused to publish pushback by a politician to critical editorials, Wemple argued Paramount tarnished the precedent of this ruling with their settlement.
“That very function — the one that happens many times a day at newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, networks, social media accounts, newsletters, whatever — is what Paramount failed to stick up for,” he declared. “It doesn’t deserve the likes of “60 Minutes.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to CBS News and Paramount for comment on Wemple’s editorial but did not immediately receive a response.