California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he is concerned about the future of CNN under Paramount, pointing to protections for the network’s editorial independence included in the settlement clearing Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
“I care about our information ecosystem. It’s broken,” Bonta said during TheWrap’s TheGrill conference Wednesday, citing misinformation and disinformation. “Of course I’m concerned about it.” Bonta said those concerns helped lead to settlement provisions protecting editorial independence at CNN and CBS News, as well as commitments to “journalistic integrity” and “fact-based, non-biased, objective reporting.”
The remarks come just over a week after Bonta led a coalition of 12 state attorneys general in settling their antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The agreement cleared a major legal hurdle for the merger and requires Paramount to establish a five-member News Editorial Independence Board overseeing CNN and CBS News.
The board, which must be established within 180 days of the merger closing, will be made up of current or former journalists and tasked with resolving certain disputes between newsroom employees and management. But questions have been raised about how much power the board will actually have, particularly because Paramount’s board of directors will select its five members.
Bonta’s concerns about CNN predate the settlement. In July, he said he was “very concerned” about CNN’s future under Paramount, citing changes at CBS News and broader concerns about preserving a “free and independent press.”
Bonta also denied Wednesday that political pressure played a role in reaching the settlement, saying there was “no pressure” from California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. He maintained that the case was settled after Paramount began addressing the attorneys general’s antitrust concerns.
Bonta tied his concerns about CNN to the broader state of American news and information, arguing that the country needs to “share the same facts” to find solutions.
“We don’t share the same facts,” he said.
