Inside the Shadowy Maneuver That Changed American Media Overnight – and Why Joy Behar Might Be Next.

July 25, 2025 | 11:48 AM EST | EXCLUSIVE

“Legacy media just fell. We are the media now.” — FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, July 2025

 The Freeze Frame:

At exactly 9:17 AM Thursday morning, the Federal Communications Commission quietly uploaded a press release — only a few paragraphs long — that sent a seismic shockwave across the American media landscape. With a 2-1 vote, the FCC approved the unprecedented $8 billion takeover of Paramount Global by David Ellison’s Skydance Media — and with it, control of CBS, 28 local news stations, and one of the most influential broadcast infrastructures in U.S. history.

But that was just the surface.

Behind the scenes?
🔻 A covert war on DEI programs.
🔻 A secret $16 million payout to Donald Trump.
🔻 A Trump-appointed FCC chair openly celebrating the purge of “media bias.”
🔻 An internal CBS ombudsman appointed to watch and report on political content.
🔻 And a looming, unspoken threat to The View, 60 Minutes, and more.

This wasn’t just a merger.
This was a hostile takeover of the American narrative.

 Scene 1: The $8 Billion Checkmate

Sources inside Paramount tell us that CEO Bob Bakish had “grave reservations” about handing the network over to Skydance, a production house once better known for Top Gun: Maverick than newsroom integrity. But after months of dwindling profits, shareholder revolt, and a mysterious “offer they couldn’t refuse,” the board caved.

The price tag? $8 billion.
The real cost? Control of CBS News.

While mainstream headlines downplayed it as a “media merger,” insiders knew this was far more sinister. Skydance came with a mission — and that mission was spelled out in writing in two confidential letters sent to FCC Chair Brendan Carr just days before the vote.

“We will immediately eliminate all DEI-based hiring, training, or funding across CBS, Paramount, and affiliated properties,” one letter read, leaked to us by a whistleblower who requested anonymity for fear of “corporate retaliation.”

In exchange?
Regulatory approval.

Carr — a Trump-appointed commissioner who once called CNN a “danger to democracy” — voted yes without hesitation.

 Scene 2: The Secret Trump Settlement

But that wasn’t all. Hidden in the chaos of the approval process was a buried payout — one that now has legal experts fuming.

Paramount Global, in a confidential deal obtained by The Informant, agreed to pay Donald J. Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over a 2024 60 Minutes segment featuring Kamala Harris. The Trump camp had been demanding $20 billion in damages, accusing CBS of “fraud, election interference, and media manipulation.”

“This is hush money with a corporate logo on it,” said former DOJ prosecutor Claire Berenstein. “It’s the most grotesque cave I’ve seen from a media conglomerate. Ever.”

Why did Paramount settle? Because the FCC vote was looming.

If the deal failed, shareholders would revolt. If it succeeded, Trump would hold the strings — from the outside, and now from within.

Scene 3: Joy Behar and the Phantom of Cancellation

Just days before the FCC vote, Joy Behar ignited controversy on The View, declaring that Trump was “jealous of Obama because he’s not trim, smart, or happily married.”

Within 24 hours, a White House spokesperson — emboldened by the soon-to-be-approved CBS deal — fired back:

“Joy Behar is an irrelevant loser suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome… she should reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump’s historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off air.”

Most took it as a joke.
But with CBS changing hands, and a new ombudsman monitoring content for “bias”, few were laughing.

Could The View be next?
Multiple producers at ABC now worry that a “chilling effect” is coming for all network opinion shows.

“When the guy who owns the station also funds your enemy,” one exec said, “you watch what you say. Or you disappear.”

 Scene 4: DEI Is Dead, Long Live the Culture War

Buried in the FCC documents are two commitments demanded by Carr and signed by Skydance attorneys:

    Elimination of all DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs at CBS and Paramount.

    Creation of an ombudsman who will “review and address bias, political imbalance, and diversity of viewpoints.”

In plain English?
They’re going to police the newsroom.

Carr went further in his public statement:

“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media… I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once-storied CBS.”

Critics aren’t convinced it stops at CBS.

“Fox News just got competition — from inside the house,” tweeted MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan. “This isn’t just consolidation. It’s ideological colonization.”

 Scene 5: The Dominoes Fall

With CBS now in Trump-friendly hands, analysts expect ripple effects across the industry.

Will NBC cut costs by spinning off MSNBC?

Will ABC reevaluate political coverage, especially shows like The View?

Will CNN face renewed pressure to “balance” or be accused of bias?

One thing is clear: The Skydance deal has opened the floodgates.

“DEI will be next to fall at Disney, Warner, and Netflix,” predicts media analyst Linda Choi. “The culture war isn’t over. It’s just getting started — and now it has a broadcasting license.”

 Scene 6: Who’s Really Behind This?

Follow the money and the legal filings, and one name keeps appearing: Stephen Miller, Trump’s former senior advisor and legal strategist.

While not officially connected to Skydance, several insiders confirm he has advised conservative investors on strategic media takeovers — especially ones targeting “left-leaning” networks.

Miller was also reportedly present at two private dinners between Skydance lawyers and FCC staffers in April, according to leaked emails obtained by The Informant.

“This wasn’t about Top Gun. It was about taking control of the cockpit,” said one source close to the deal.

 Scene 7: The Final Twist — The News You’ll Never See Again

Even as this article goes to press, CBS News staff have begun deleting DEI training materials, canceling workshops, and restructuring teams.

Three producers at 60 Minutes have reportedly resigned quietly after being told “editorial standards are under review.”

And the new CBS ombudsman?
He was formerly head of compliance at One America News.

“This is the Murdoch playbook — just more polished,” warned journalism professor Alma Kline. “The right doesn’t need to build new networks. They just buy and gut the old ones.”

 The Chốt Hạ: This Was Never About Ratings

The FCC didn’t just approve a merger.
It approved a transformation of American journalism.

And now, viewers across the country will turn on their local CBS affiliate and unknowingly consume programming subtly rewritten, quietly redirected, and ideologically pre-cleansed.

Paramount Global may keep its name.
CBS may keep its logo.
But the soul of American broadcast news?

It just sold for $8 billion — and the invoice was signed by Trump’s allies.

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The contents of this article are based on publicly available reports, anonymous sources, and statements made by relevant political and media figures. Interpretations and narratives expressed herein reflect editorial synthesis for entertainment and informational purposes, and do not represent definitive legal or corporate conclusions. All claims involving living individuals or corporate entities are presented as part of ongoing public discourse.