US House lawmakers press Paramount CEO on Warner Brothers acquisition

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - ‌Two U.S. House ​Democrats ​asked Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison on Tuesday to disclose if he or the company offered to make changes to CNN's coverage of President ‌Donald Trump in exchange for approval of a tie-up with Warner Brothers ⁠Discovery.

"It is clear that President Trump expects your potential ownership of Warner to produce favorable press coverage ‌for him and his allies," ‌wrote Representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Frank Pallone of New Jersey in a letter first reported by Reuters. "A merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner would dangerously ​concentrate media power into a single conglomerate and bring more independent voices under presidential influence."

The two lawmakers in November said Paramount was "stonewalling congressional oversight" after they sought ⁠documents tied to the FCC's approval of Skydance's $8.4 billion merger with the CBS News-parent company.

Paramount did not immediately respond ​to a request for comment.

The lawmakers also want records of any donations made to any Trump cause or interest and suggest that ​Ellison has sought to influence coverage at CBS.

"Your ‌actions at CBS News after the Paramount Skydance merger demonstrate your willingness to tailor news coverage to the liking of the president," the ⁠lawmakers wrote.

Trump has aggressively pushed the Federal Communications Commission to go after media companies over programs or news content he argues is unfair.

Paramount won a months-long bidding war with Netflix for ⁠Warner Bros, a victory that cements Ellison as a powerful force in the rapidly contracting entertainment landscape. ​The deal is expected to close in the third quarter this year.

Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump's lawsuit against CBS over its editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with his Democratic ‌presidential opponent Kamala Harris.

The merger was approved after Skydance agreed to ensure CBS News and entertainment programming would be free of bias, ‌hire an ombudsman for at least two years to review complaints, and end diversity programs.

Lawmakers ⁠and the sole Democrat on the ‌FCC have called for a ​rigorous review after Paramount asked the commission to approve a waiver to allow significant foreign investments backing the acquisition.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by ‌Bill Berkrot)

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