As part of its agreement to allow an $8 billion merger between media conglomerates Skydance and Paramount, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has assigned a government monitor to CBS (which is owned by Paramount) to rein in perceived "bias" against President Donald Trump and his administration.
Tech outlet Gizmodo reported Friday on an interview FCC chairman Brendan Carr gave to far-right, pro-Trump network Newsmax, in which he gave new details on the conditions the administration imposed in its green-lighting of the merger. According to Carr, Paramount will now have a government-assigned "bias monitor" tasked with making sure the company's properties — including CBS — aren't too critical of Trump.
“They made commitments to address bias and restore fact-based reporting. I think that’s so important,” Carr said. “I mean, look, the American public simply do not trust these legacy media broadcasters. And so, if they stick with that commitment, you know, we’re sort of trust-but-verify mode, that’ll be a big win.”
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“One of the things they’re going to have to do is put in an ombudsman in place for two years,” Carr said. “So basically a bias monitor that will report directly to the President. So that’s something that’s significant that we’re going to see happening as well.”
Carr's interview came just one day after the premiere of Season 27 of the animated show South Park, which satirized Trump in numerous ways including an unflattering AI-generated deepfake of the president removing his clothes while walking through the desert. After the premiere, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers called South Park a "fourth-rate show" that "hasn't been relevant for over 20 years." The episode aired after South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker inked a $1.5 billion deal to give Paramount the rights to South Park for five years.
The timing of the administration approving the Paramount-Skydance merger has many Democratic lawmakers calling for an investigation into whether the approval was politically motivated. While the Trump administration was considering whether to approve the proposed merger, Paramount settled Trump's lawsuit against CBS for $16 million over its "60 Minutes" interview with 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Several days after late night host Stephen Colbert criticized the settlement, CBS announced it was cancelling his show in May of 2026, at the conclusion of the current broadcast season. Colbert's show boasted the highest ratings of any network late night show, besting both Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel on NBC and ABC, respectively.
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Click here to read Gizmodo's full article.