Overview
- Clooney told Variety on Dec. 30 that “Bari Weiss is dismantling CBS News” and said ABC and CBS should have told President Trump “go f--- yourself” rather than settle his lawsuits.
- Paramount paid $16 million to resolve Trump’s claim over a 60 Minutes interview, a settlement reported as coinciding with approval of the Skydance-Paramount merger that elevated David Ellison.
- Weiss, appointed editor-in-chief in October after Paramount acquired her outlet The Free Press, delayed a 60 Minutes segment on Venezuelan migrants sent to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, prompting internal criticism.
- Weiss replied with an invitation for Clooney to visit the CBS Broadcast Center and said she is working to relaunch the Evening News on Jan. 5.
- Trump weighed in on New Year’s with a social media broadside against Clooney, extending the public dispute over the settlements and CBS’s editorial direction.