Trumps FCC pick Brendan Carr says 60 Minutes editing scandal could affect Paramount-Skydance merger review

CBS’ refusal to release the transcript of its full “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris could factor into a government review of Paramount Global’s proposed merger with Skydance, according to President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Federal Communications Commission.The FCC gives broadcast networks “free access to a valuable public resource, the airwaves” as long as they “serve the public interest,” Brendan Carr told Fox News host Dana Perino, as earlier reported by The Daily Beast.Carr added that a conservative watchdog complaint that accused CBS’ “60 Minutes” of news distortion could factor into the agency’s decision on the Skydance-Paramount merger.“I’m pretty confident that that news distortion complaint over the ’60 Minutes’ transcript is something that is likely to arise in the context of the FCC review of that transaction,” he said.Carr, Paramount and Skydance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.On Sunday, Trump selected Carr – who is currently the senior Republican on the FCC – to lead the agency, calling him a “warrior for Free Speech.” He first nominated Carr to serve as an FCC commissioner in 2017 during his first term as president.Last month, Carr criticized CBS’ stubborn refusal to release the “60 Minutes” transcript.Earlier this week, he posted on X about the “privilege” bestowed to public media and vowed to “enforce” they act in the “public interest,” hinting at the revocation of some broadcast licenses.CBS came under fire last month after it aired meandering, clunky answers from Harris’ interview during a preview on the network’s “Face the Nation” – and then included edited versions of her answers on the full “60 Minutes” episode.Trump accused the Tiffany Network of foul play and demanded CBS release the full interview transcript.

Carr also called for the network to release the transcript.Last month, the network defended the editing...