Skydance exec Jeff Shell pressed CBS News to release 60 Minutes Kamala Harris transcript ahead of Paramount merger: report
Skydance Media executive Jeff Shell pressured CBS News brass to release the “60 Minutes” transcript ahead of his company’s merger with the network’s parent Paramount Global, according to a report.Shell, who is slated to grab the reins as president of the merged company, pushed CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” boss Bill Owens to release the transcript of the sitdown with then-Vice President Kamala Harris amid calls from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, Status reported Tuesday.Shell convened the meeting last October while Trump was making claims that “60 Minutes” “deceptively edited” the Harris interview to benefit his democratic challenger, but McMahon and Owens pushed back, persuading the exec that folding under political rpessure would be a bad move.The meeting left McMahon and Owens shaken by Shell’s insertion into newsroom decision-making given that the merger had yet to close, the report said.
They were also on edge that the former NBCUniversal CEO felt that the Tiffany Network should simply appease Trump, as they argued that there was no foul play on the Harris interview.Trump ultimately sued CBS to release the transcripts, recently raising his damages claims to $20 billion, and he clinched the presidency shortly after.Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, who will decide if the merger can go through, also pressured the network to release the transcript, which it did in February.Since then, Shell and current Paramount boss Shari Redstone have pressured the network to settle the lawsuit with Trump — even though “60 Minutes'” did not reveal any doctoring, just a cleaning up of Harris’ jumbled responses — sources told The Post.The case is currently before a mediator, who is facilitating discussions between both sides about a possible settlement.Both Shell and Redstone want the deal to go through but Owens and McMahon believe they have done nothing wrong and that caving to Trump would...