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CBS News owner Paramount settles Trump’s lawsuit over ‘60 Minutes’ interview for $16 million

Poynter · Angela Fu · last updated

Paramount agreed late Tuesday night to pay $16 million to settle President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the company over its editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

The settlement comes despite many experts agreeing that Trump’s lawsuit, which was filed in October, lacked legal merit. Trump had argued that Paramount’s news division, CBS News, interfered with the election by airing two different clips of an October interview with Harris, then the Democratic presidential nominee. That type of editing — which Trump called “deceptive” — is standard in the news industry.

Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press

State of Play

Whether it’s the Des Moines Register’s publication of an unfavorable election poll, a routine edit of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, or the Associated Press’s decision in its authoritative stylebook to continue to use “Gulf of Mexico,” Donald Trump and the White House have used executive authority and legal reprisals in an effort to punish and suppress press coverage that runs contrary to the administration’s preferred narratives.

Democracy and politics | Signalgate | The CBS submission | Voiceless America


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Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest

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The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.

The White House vs. the press  |  Voiceless America 


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Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model

State of Play

The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.

Artificial intelligence


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Related Knowledge Center: The CBS submission

State of Play

Corporate pressure has led to capitulation by CBS News in a number of conflicts with the Trump regime — including its newly ideological coverage philosophy.

The White House vs. the press


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