By Cliff Potts
July 28, 2025 | WPS.News

When Paramount Global surrendered to the demands of the Trump-appointed FCC, they didn’t just greenlight an $8 billion merger. They greenlit the death of corporate integrity, editorial freedom, and any pretense of standing for democratic values.

To secure the deal with Skydance Media, Paramount agreed to eliminate all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, install a political ombudsman to monitor CBS News content, and pay Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over a “60 Minutes” interview (Barr, 2025). That wasn’t a concession. That was a capitulation.

This FCC—now rightfully dubbed the Fascist Communications Commission—led by Trump operative Brendan Carr, made no effort to hide its demands. If Paramount wanted approval, it had to offer up ideological compliance. Paramount’s leadership complied without hesitation. Not one voice on the board—not even among its five women directors—dared to dissent.

The clearest sign of submission came when The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was abruptly canceled. Not because it was failing—Colbert was in the ratings for nine consecutive years—but because he dared to call out the company’s $16 million payoff to Trump as a “big fat bribe” (Hipes, 2025). Days later, CBS axed the entire Late Show franchise (Andreeva, 2025).

It wasn’t budget cuts. It was political theater. And it sent a warning to every journalist and satirist in the country: step out of line, and you’re done.

Worse still is the calculated demolition of DEI infrastructure. This wasn’t a cost-saving measure—it was a deliberate ideological purge. Paramount made it clear: there’s no place for diversity in a company that now openly models itself on fascist appeasement.

The architects of this betrayal?

  • Shari Redstone, Paramount’s non-executive chair, who holds the controlling vote.
  • David Ellison, incoming CEO, whose tech-military-entertainment vision now includes state-aligned propaganda.
  • Jeff Shell, disgraced former NBCUniversal executive, now recycled as the merger’s president.
  • And every board member who sat silent as DEI was burned, CBS News was neutered, and Colbert was shown the door.

This wasn’t a business decision. It was a doctrinal shift. Paramount traded its reputation for regulatory favor. It replaced courage with compliance. It rebranded cowardice as consolidation.

We now face a media company willing to suppress dissent, erase diversity, and obey authoritarian pressure—all to make their quarterly report shine. This is how fascism spreads: not with marching boots at first, but through quiet boardrooms, merger agreements, and corporate cowardice dressed in suits.

What will you do about it?

References (APA style):

Andreeva, N. (2025, July 18). CBS to end The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in 2026, citing costs amid political fallout. WPS.News. https://wps.news/2025/07/18/cbs-to-end-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-in-2026-citing-costs-amid-political-fallout/

Barr, M. (2025, July 24). FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger after DEI rollback, Trump settlement. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/24/fcc-greenlights-skydance-paramount-cbs-00476030

Hipes, P. (2025, July 17). Stephen Colbert says Paramount paid Trump “a big fat bribe” before merger approval. Deadline. https://deadline.com/2025/07/stephen-colbert-trump-bribe-paramount-late-show-1235568913/

https://endfascism.xyz

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