Paramount’s Paper Trail
Early on Thursday afternoon, Paramount’s chief legal officer, Makan Delrahim, received a letter from lawyers representing Freedom of the Press Foundation and Reporters Without Borders—both organizations of which are shareholders in the David Ellison-owned media conglomerate.
The letter, provided exclusively to Status, cited news reports about Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery—the parent company of CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, and more—contending that Paramount leadership “has promised, if not outright provided, high-level executive branch officials an array of favors to bolster” the company’s chances of obtaining regulatory approval for the controversial deal. Specifically, the letter pointed to reporting that Larry Ellison discussed the WBD deal with Donald Trump’s White House and indicated Paramount would “implement the CBS playbook” at CNN, “transforming CNN’s programming and firing anchors and commentators Trump dislikes.”
“This reporting creates a credible basis to believe that Ellison, other board members, and other Paramount executives may have breached their fiduciary duties or otherwise committed misconduct,” wrote the lawyers from the Public Integrity Project, which is representing the two prominent press advocacy groups.
To that end, the press freedom groups demanded “an inspection of Paramount’s books and records,” in accordance with a Delaware law that allows shareholders to review documents when there is a credible basis to suspect wrongdoing. Among the materials the groups are seeking are…
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