By Terence Smith
Two of the more shameful challenges to media independence in this country continue apace:
*CBS, unfortunately, is still in “active settlement discussions” with President Trump’s lawyers over his $20 billion lawsuit that claims 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris during the campaign that made her look good. The suit argues that the standard, professional editing caused Trump “mental anguish and confusion.” The notion of Trumpian “confusion” seems beyond argument, but the rest of the suit is nonsense.
Nonetheless, CBS has offered to settle for $15 million, while Trump is demanding $25 million and — poke in the eye — an apology. The suit comes just as Paramount, CBS’s parent company seeks regulatory approval for its pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. Meanwhile, California lawmakers are investigating whether the proposed settlement of a meritless Trump suit violates federal bribery laws. All parties have agreed to a delay in the proceedings, pushing the next filings into July.
*PBS, meanwhile, is holding its corporate breath while Congress considers a Presidential “rescission order” to eliminate roughly $1billion in previously approved federal funds for public broadcasting. The House has approved the rescission by a two-vote margin; the Senate is considering it. Several Republican senators are said to be skeptical that the saving, modest by Congressional standards, is worth the heat they’ll get for approving it. We shall see.
In the course of a long journalistic career, I worked as a correspondent for both CBS and PBS. Both are excellent news organizations, well worth saving. But when I moved from the Tiffany Network to the PBS NewsHour, I found their priorities were remarkably different.The story conferences and correspondent meetings at CBS invariably opened with a report of the latest ratings. The number of eyeballs watching the CBS Evening News, for example, was vital because it determined advertising revenue (as well as the anchor’s career prospects.) Put simply, it paid the bills.
At The NewsHour (then the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,) I was startled to find that the 10 a.m. story conferences were about The News, with nary a mention of the show’s ratings. The conversation focused on what stories were most important, not how many people were watching. Why? Because the NewsHour was underwritten by private funders and, crucially, Congressionally-approved funds through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that support both PBS and NPR and member stations.
That public funding is at stake now. The Trump Administration is determined to cut it off. Stay tuned to what happens in the Senate, and in the suit against CBS, please.