Former CBS anchor Connie Chung expressed serious concerns on CNN Friday about the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, warning it could signify the “end” of journalism as she once knew it.
The FCC approved the $8 billion merger on Thursday, with the deal scheduled to close on August 7. This announcement follows several controversies involving CBS, owned by Paramount, including a lawsuit settlement with President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” segment and the cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Speaking about the newly formed Paramount Skydance Corp., Chung suggested the network she once worked for risks losing its independence.
On “CNN News Central,” Chung said, “I fear the end of CBS as I knew it. CBS was always a standalone network. It was autonomous. The news division was autonomous, and it was always unencumbered by pressures from politicians, including presidents, and unencumbered by bean counters. But now? I can see very clearly that the days that I remembered are long gone.”
She added, “Honest, unbiased, fact-based journalism is being tainted and those who practiced that journalism, like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, that kind of journalism has disappeared. I also fear that gone are the days of Frank Stanton, who was the president of CBS, who defended the rights of the journalism, the First Amendment, the fourth estate before Congress, and he represented all journalists in many ways.”
Chung criticized Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and Skydance Media CEO David Ellison, blaming their “greed” for tainting journalism. She also condemned the company’s decision not to implement any new DEI initiatives, calling it an insult to women and minorities at CBS.
Several journalists have accused CBS and Paramount of bowing to Trump ahead of the merger, citing the settlement and show cancellations as evidence, including Chung.
“I have difficulty believing what they claim, which is that the ‘60 Minutes’ agreement had nothing to do with the merger, or a settlement had nothing to do with the merger, and also that the disappearance of Steve [sic] Colbert had nothing to do — it had only to do with financial issues. It all smells,” Chung said.
Paramount has faced backlash for these recent decisions, even from its own employees.
Rome Hartman, a veteran “60 Minutes” producer, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that he viewed the settlement with Trump as a “cowardly capitulation by the corporate leaders of Paramount” and a “fundamental betrayal” of CBS News.
Senators Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to Ellison demanding answers about the Trump settlement and Colbert’s cancellation. They suggested that anti-bribery laws may have been violated to secure FCC approval of the merger.
