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California Attorney General Bonta says states made demands in Paramount-Warner deal
California Attorney General Rob Bonta arrives at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Aug. 18.
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California AG Rob Bonta discusses Paramount's settlement with states over merger plan
California Attorney General Rob Bonta defended his settlement of an antitrust challenge to Paramount's $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, denying that pressure to keep the company in Hollywood drove the timing of the agreement.
Paramount had reportedly considered moving operations out of California as the legal battle continued. Asked on Morning Edition how much that possibility factored into the timing, Bonta said, "Not at all. We focused on our antitrust concerns in this case."
Bonta had sounded more ambivalent a day earlier, stressing that the settlement was "not a vote of support for this merger" even as he called it the "best course of action." On Tuesday, he was less equivocal: "We were making demands, and we were requiring that there be certain conditions and commitments," he said.
The settlement, which still needs a judge's approval, would resolve a lawsuit filed by 12 states to block the merger, a major legal obstacle to the deal. It also creates an editorial board intended to protect the independence of CNN and CBS News. It's one of the more closely watched provisions in the agreement.
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"The state of California will have no input in it. No government entity will have any input into it," Bonta said. "It will consist of seasoned, experienced, hopefully trusted journalists who know the craft and know the need for independence and objectivity and fairness."
Bonta said the standards that would determine whether the people selected to the board meet the settlement requirements were negotiated as part of the settlement and were designed to keep the board independent. He also said an auditor would monitor compliance and that the states could return to court if Paramount failed to follow the consent decree.
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The agreement has not quieted its critics. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said his state had pushed for the full divestiture of CNN and CBS News and was "deeply disappointed" the settlement did not go further. Others say it does too little to address media consolidation, potential job losses and whether the new editorial safeguards will hold.
Listen to the full interview by clicking the blue button above.
The digital story was edited by Suzanne Nuyen, with contributions from David Folkenflik.
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