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‘ CBS 60 Minutes’ publicly releases transcripts of interview to the FCC

IM42A said:
Once more, could someone sit down with the man, and explain to him that broadcast networks do not have licenses?
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Doesn't matter. The point is the totalitarian-style intimidation against any media outlet who dares challenge him. It's not just a threat against CBS, it's a message to every other media organization to fall in line, or else.

This is how dictators in authoritarian states control the media and now we are seeing it in the U.S.A., First Amendment be damned. Also, it's what a mob-style shakedown looks like.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
Doesn't matter. The point is the totalitarian-style intimidation against any media outlet who dares challenge him. It's not just a threat against CBS, it's a message to every other media organization to fall in line, or else.

This is how dictators in authoritarian states control the media and now we are seeing it in the U.S.A., First Amendment be damned. Also, it's what a mob-style shakedown looks like.
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True too in this case whenever it involves TV and Radio the FCC gets involved. We can say anything that Brendan Carr should not do like interfere in the first amendment when it comes to how it gets the FCC to investigate the networks like CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, NPR and Audacy. But we were proven wrong and it became political interference in those cases. Also Reuters and AP got an outright ban from the White House Press Corp when it came to investigating the Trump Cabinet directly like dig on Elon Musk leadership at multiple companies prior to Doge it had the same results.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
neither do cable networks, doesn't stop his cult from filing FCC complaints demanding they take their licenses away
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True however whoever is advising the current FCC Chairperson thinks they can play the same tactics like in other countries where TV and Radio Networks are licensed. Most Notably Russia and Philippines were known to have questioned the licenses of TV Networks in the past decade.

www.bbc.com

Philippines top broadcaster ABS-CBN denied new licence

Government critics say the ABS-CBN shutdown is an attack on media freedom by President Duterte.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com


theconversation.com

How Vladimir Putin took control of Russian TV – and how that might be starting to crack

The live protest on one of Russia’s main state-owned TV news bulletins is a blow to Putin because of his near total control of broadcasting in the country.
theconversation.com theconversation.com
 
www.hollywoodreporter.com

CBS Settles Discrimination Lawsuit Over Alleged Racial Quotas for Hiring TV Writers

The deal aligns with companies across Hollywood stepping back from DEI policies. Parent company Paramount Global is seeking regulatory approval of its proposed merger with Skydance.
www.hollywoodreporter.com www.hollywoodreporter.com

Now this stuff comes out on Paramount and DEI issues and one of the lawyers investigating DEI at Paramount is Stephen Miller.


The lawsuit was settled as Paramount Global continues to seek regulatory approval of its proposed merger with Skydance. FCC commissioner Brendan Carr, who sent a letter to Comcast in February saying that he was investigating DEI policies, has asserted his authority over the sale due to the transfer of broadcast licenses. The agency continues to investigate CBS News’ handling of a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Beneker was represented by America First Legal Foundation, a conservative group founded by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. The firm, which was joined by JW Howard Attorneys, has brought federal complaints against major companies, including Starbucks, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, arguing that corporate diversity and hiring practices run afoul of civil rights laws. It has targeted allegedly discriminatory hiring quotas at Disney, specifically a provision requiring that at least half of producer and writing staff come from underrepresented group that the company rolled back earlier this year.

The settlement was reached as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to campaign against DEI programs in the media and entertainment sector. Carr in March urged the agency’s enforcement arm to open an investigation into Disney and ABC over whether the companies maintains discriminatory policies through racial quotas, among other things.
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The Executive Producer of 60 Minutes is quitting. Says he has lost independence.

apnews.com

The top producer at '60 Minutes' has quit. He says he can no longer run the show as he always has

The top producer at CBS News' “60 Minutes" has quit during a dispute between his show and the Trump administration.
apnews.com apnews.com

nypost.com

‘60 Minutes’ producer Bill Owens quits under pressure from Trump’s CBS lawsuit

“It has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,” Owens said in a memo obtained by The Post.
nypost.com nypost.com

Apparently Leslie Stahl is also about to retire from the show.

People wonder how the government can stifle free speech and the free press. This is how.

The bad news is this will likely move a lot of this kind of news to places like Netflix and Apple, where they can work in an unregulated environment, and the FCC can't threaten their parent companies. This is exactly what led Howard Stern to leave broadcast radio for satellite.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
Here's Jake Tapper's superb piece on this topic, which is already drawing angry reactions from MAGA world. Next, we'll probably see what kind of retaliatory and punitive actions Trump and his administration take against CNN and its parent, WBD, for this reporting.

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"You will praise and worship me or else". I guess we're great again.
CNN has a couple of MAGA commentators. Amazing they're still considered a far left network (if they ever were)
 
TheBigA said:
This is exactly what led Howard Stern to leave broadcast radio for satellite.
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Stern left OTA FCC licensed radio to avoid the restrictions on obscenity and profanity, not politics.
 
TheBigA said:
The Executive Producer of 60 Minutes is quitting. Says he has lost independence.
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Since when is the programmer, producer, reporter, writer or whatever of a commercial enterprise responsible to its owners "independent"? Ms. Redstone's comments indicate that she was unhappy with the focus of 60 Minutes. I suspect the producer was also under pressure for his failure to "fix" the CBS evening news report.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Stern left OTA FCC licensed radio to avoid the restrictions on obscenity and profanity, not politics.
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In a way, it's the same thing. The end result is the same.

DavidEduardo said:
Since when is the programmer, producer, reporter, writer or whatever of a commercial enterprise responsible to its owners "independent"?
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He is none of those things. He is at a level where he has a contract with the company. Some contracts give some management a certain amount of independence. Whether he actually has "independence" is a different matter, but that's what he's saying is his reason for leaving.

What's happening here is the company is under pressure from the government to do certain things in order to get approval for their sale. The company needs someone to walk the plank to prove they've addressed the problem. Owens is that person.
 
TheBigA said:
In a way, it's the same thing. The end result is the same.
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How is obscenity and profanity (without making a SNL routine out of it) the same as politics?
TheBigA said:
He is none of those things. He is at a level where he has a contract with the company. Some contracts give some management a certain amount of independence. Whether he actually has "independence" is a different matter, but that's what he's saying is his reason for leaving.

What's happening here is the company is under pressure from the government to do certain things in order to get approval for their sale. The company needs someone to walk the plank to prove they've addressed the problem. Owens is that person.
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I used to be an absolute fanatical viewer of 60 Minutes when I was in places where it was available. In the last 15 years or so, I have avoided it with that same passion because I found its writing ponderous and the selection of topics and the focus on them to be increasingly polarized.

Even as OTA television dies, I'd hope that the show returned to its heritage
 
DavidEduardo said:
How is obscenity and profanity (without making a SNL routine out of it) the same as politics?
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In these cases, they're both being prosecuted and instigated by the government. The net result is the government is using its power to intimidate popular media shows.

Meanwhile, there's an entire media world that exists without any government interference. Plus there's potential to make more money. Why stay in traditional media when Apple and Netflix are throwing millions at talent and there are no regulations?

DavidEduardo said:
Even as OTA television dies, I'd hope that the show returned to its heritage
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It's still a consistent ratings powerhouse.
 
TheBigA said:
It's still a consistent ratings powerhouse.
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In what demographic? And for how much longer, given this high profile decapitation?

My guess to both questions is that it's an elderly audience, many of whom will probably continue to watch out of routine, in spite of being fully aware of what has happened. A certain percentage might turn away though. I guess we'll see how both the show and its appeal are affected soon enough.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
In what demographic? And for how much longer, given this high profile decapitation?
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That question could be asked about all of broadcast television, but particularly CBS.

As I said, it all just pushes this kind of journalism to Netflix and Apple. No regulations, more opportunities.

I don't expect the show will be affected one bit. It's a big staff and they all know what they're doing.

As I said, the company needed a sacrificial lamb to satisfy the government. This government likes that kind of thing.
 
thedesk.net

Report: FCC engages Paramount on remedies needed for merger approval

April 24, 2025
thedesk.net thedesk.net

Here is more on the FCC as it related to Paramount and Skydance, this one specifically puts WCBS-TV and its other O&O's waiting for approval in the skydance deal.

Another matter involves an ongoing investigation into Paramount-owned local TV station WCBS (Channel 2) over allegations of news distortion, which Carr unilaterally reopened in January after his predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel, declared it to be politically-motivated and closed it without further action.

The news distortion complaint has little to do with the operation of WCBS; instead, it focuses on an interview aired on “60 Minutes” involving former Vice President Kamala Harris in the days leading up to the 2024 Presidential Election. A segment of the interview was edited for time and clarity, but a fuller clip aired earlier in the day on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” which invited the challenge.

WCBS was one of nearly 200 CBS stations and affiliates to air the program. The station is also one of nearly two dozen local TV stations owned by Paramount, meaning it shares common ownership with CBS, even though its editorial operation is separate from that of CBS News and 60 Minutes.

The Paramount-Skydance merger has cleared other regulatory hurdles. But part of the transaction involves the transfer of Paramount’s local TV broadcast licenses to Skydance, which the FCC must approve.
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