Everybody, it seems, has their fingers pointed at Paramount
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This week, I have a deep dive into the largest media merger in Hollywood history, which, should it clear a slate of legal challenges, is sure to affect your screens — and your wallet.
Media Mechanics
As media mogul and Trump ally David Ellison seeks to close the largest deal in Hollywood history — valued at some $111 billion — just about everybody, it seems, has their fingers pointed at Paramount Skydance.
On Monday, the bid by Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. hit its biggest snag to date after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order. The order blocks Paramount from finalizing the transaction for two weeks as legal battles seeking to block the deal heat up in court.
The news comes after a busy, whirlwind week for lawyers at Paramount, which was slapped with three separate federal lawsuits that seek to stop the consolidation. Among them is a legal challenge from 12 state attorneys general, which allege the consolidation would undermine competition in the media industry — affecting blockbuster films in particular.
The legal drama — with deep political undertones and major implications for the media industry — has raged ever since. Paramount had hoped to finalize the mega-merger by as early as this month.
This week, I offer a deep dive into each of the lawsuits and their allegations. An under-the-radar lawsuit by the nonprofit Freedom of the Press Foundation, for example, argues the merger would allow Ellison and other executives to profit from a deal that trades “editorial independence for favoritism from the Trump administration.”
While the fate and timeline of the deal are now uncertain, one truth remains. Should the deal go through, it’ll disrupt virtually every segment of the entertainment industry — from Hollywood blockbusters to cable news to professional sports to video games. For consumers, the changes could be apparent on their screens. And in their wallets.
That’s it from me; we’ll see you here next week.
— Mark
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A White House spokesperson and other Republicans recently jokingly compared Olive Garden’s “Never-Ending Pasta Pass” to Democrats’ views on election security because pass holders must present a valid photo I.D. when ordering their pasta.GOP politicians and pundits also made similar quips on social media, with some using it as a way to push for the SAVE America Act. The SAVE Act would restrict the use of mail-in voting and require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot in all states.
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Trilateral trade talks to take place when ‘it’s appropriate,’ Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Minister says
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Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez said Friday Mexico will take part in trilateral talks with the U.S. and Canada over a continental trade pact when “it’s appropriate.” The pact, called the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, is set to expire in 10 years. While Mexico and Canada both wanted to extend it, the Trump administration declined to. Velasco Álvarez said there are many issues “that their own nature is bilateral and because of that we need to work with the United States each to resolve them.”
Last week’s headline:
EU lawmakers want investigation into FIFA president, alleging Trump influenced Balogun’s suspension reversal
It was a RIGHT MISS
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Unbalanced Headlines
What happened:
Federal authorities arrested a suspected anti-ICE protester after he allegedly set off fireworks while carrying various weapons outside a federal building in Manhattan.
LEFT HEADLINE:
A former U.S. Army soldier started fire outside a NYC federal building and fired a pellet gun, FBI says — Reported July 20, 2026, by PBS News
RIGHT HEADLINE:
Armed loon sets off ‘incendiary device’ outside NYC fed HQ as terrorism task force probes anti-ICE attack
— Reported July 20, 2026, by New York Post
Competing narratives
Left-leaning media tended to focus on the incident itself and the suspect, using more measured language and emphasizing that the investigation is ongoing. Coverage often framed the event in the context of protest.
Right-leaning media tended to use more charged language that emphasized the violent nature of the incident, framing it as an attack on ICE and, in some cases, describing it as domestic terrorism.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
