Dan Rather denounces Paramount's settlement as "a sell-out to extortion"
"If major news organizations continue to kneel before power and stop trying to hold the powerful accountable, then we all lose," the former CBS News anchor said.
Screenshot: Team Coco/YouTube
Dan Rather is adding himself to the chorus of people who are furious and concerned about Paramount’s decision to settle with Trump for $16 million—a growing ensemble that also counts Elizabeth Warren and pretty much anyone who isn’t on the board of Paramount Global among its ranks. Donald Trump initially sued the broadcaster for an amount that eventually grew to $20 billion last year over a 60 Minutes pre-election interview with Kamala Harris he says was edited in her favor. Variety reports that “most legal experts” agreed the suit was frivolous and would have been thrown out of court, but the company also happened to need White House approval for a merger with Skydance that it’s trying to push through its final stages.
In the former CBS News anchor’s view, this decision was a “sad day for journalism” and a “sad day for 60 Minutes and CBS News.” In a statement to Variety, Rather continued, “I hope people will read the details of this and understand what it was. It was distortion by the President and a kneeling down and saying, ‘yes, sir,’ by billionaire corporate owners.”
“What really gets me about this is that Paramount didn’t have to settle,” he said. “You settle a lawsuit when you’ve done something wrong. 60 Minutes did nothing wrong. It followed accepted journalistic practices. Lawyers almost unanimously said the case wouldn’t stand up in court.” Heightened internal oversight and pressure around the merger also led to the departure of top producer Bill Owens, who cited a decrease in journalistic independence as a reason for his resignation. Another major executive, Wendy McMahon, soon followed.