Getty Images In just a few short weeks, Paramount Skydance will complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and in the process become the biggest TV news organization in the world. With NBC News, MS NOW and CNBC now split between multiple companies, the combined CNN and CBS News will be unrivaled in scale, certainly in the U.S, if not the entire world.
But the settlement between Paramount and the state attorneys general throws a wrinkle in that merger: An “Editorial Independence Board” that will have oversight over both news organizations.
What the Editorial Independence Board will do?
The board will create “News Editorial Principles” based on the standards & practices of the two outlets, focused on journalistic integrity, fairness, independence and accuracy.
The board will also resolve “any disputes between CBS News employees, CNN employees, and management of the Combined Entity regarding alleged violations of the News Editorial Principles, as well as “any disputes between CBS News employees, CNN employees, and management of the Combined Entity regarding alleged reporting bias or failure to meet agreed reporting fairness standards.”
The board will also monitor “adherence to ethical journalism as defined by journalism industry best practices and to editorial independence, including from the Combined Entity’s ownership and shareholders.”
Notably, the board will only be focused on news and editorial content produced with the intent to be distributed in the U.S., which would be essentially all of CBS’ work, as well as a good chunk of CNN’s work though CNN has a vast international operation as well.
The Editorial Independence Board will report to the corporate board via a chief compliance officer.
Who will be on the board, and how will they be appointed?
The Editorial Independence Board will be appointed by the board of directors for the combined company (that means, effectively, by CEO David Ellison) within 180 days of the deal closing (so, six months or so). Board members will serve for three years, and can only be removed for good cause.
There will be five members of the board, and they must have practiced journalism for at least 10 years, though they can be active journalists or retired. “No more than two (2) Editorial Independence Board Members may be affiliated with the same political party,” the agreement states, suggesting that journalists with some partisan leanings could be permitted.
No member of any government or governmental entity can be appointed to the board, and no government or governmental entity (either federal, state or local) can have approval rights over who is appointed to the board.
“No officer, director, shareholder or non-Journalist employee or contractor of the Combined Entity may be appointed to the Editorial Independence Board,” the agreement states, leaving open the possibility that a journalist working for the company could join the board.
In fact, there are a number of potential candidates already in-house. If CNN and CBS News journalists are permitted to join, it stands to reason that a high profile name or two from each outlet (say, Norah O’Donnell and Jake Tapper) could join. And RedBird Capital, which is David Ellison’s partner in the mega merger, also employees a number of high-profile former journalists on its staff, including former Fox News and CNN anchor Chris Wallace, former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, and former FT editor Matthew Garrahan.
But it will be any signs of obvious partisan appointees that is sure to attract the attention of critics and press freedom groups.
Will the board be able to do anything?
That is far less certain. News Corp., after all, ostensibly has its own board, which was created when Rupert Murdoch took over the company. With a focus on basic standards and practices, and resolving disagreements between journalists and management, it may be more bark than bite. Or there might not even be any bark at all.
Stay tuned…
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