Unfortunately, the judge just approved the merger anyway
We lost this one, but we’re not going anywhere
- Wed, Sep 30 at 5:32 PM
Mark,
Last week, Free Press and our partners in the Block the Merger coalition filed an amicus brief in federal court urging a judge to reject the Paramount mega-merger settlement.1 We worked through the night to win approval on an emergency motion to allow us to submit our brief, and the judge quickly accepted that motion.2 We kept fighting even after the billionaires thought they’d seen the last of us.
Unfortunately, the judge just approved the merger anyway.3
I’m disappointed by the decision, and by our elected officials’ capitulation that made it possible. Dangerous mega-mergers like this demonstrate the urgent need to enforce our antitrust laws instead of caving in to billionaire pressure.
Multi-billionaires like the Ellisons, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are strategically buying up media outlets to silence dissenting voices, undermine accountability and align themselves with corrupt authoritarians and political opportunists.
If this trend continues, dominant media outlets will increasingly fail to hold the powerful accountable.
You’re with us because you care about all of that, and because you know it will take a sustained fight to reverse this dangerous trend. The Block the Merger coalition brought together more people than ever before to take on media consolidation — and that energy isn’t going away because one judge signed off on one bad deal.
Together, we built a strong and diverse coalition of advocates, activists and members of the entertainment industry. We turned this story into front-page news and we pushed the state attorneys general to file their lawsuit against this merger to begin with. We hurt the Ellisons’ reputation and brought new levels of scrutiny to these shady billionaire dealings. None of that goes away: not today, and — with your help — not ever.
Free Press is leading the fight against future mergers and working with our partners to build better models for community media, local journalism and civic information outside of tech-oligarch control. We’re building a powerful, popular movement, and we’re going to keep fighting over the long haul.
Comments
Post a Comment