Rob Bonta’s War With Paramount Might Be Hindered By His Friendship With Big-Name Actor

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TOP STORY

PARAMOUNT AND BONTA’S POWER WAR

After weeks of discourse, debate, and downright drama, Paramount’s legal team was set to meet with California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta Monday. The lofty goal — attempting to reach a settlement that would give both sides what they want — may well have been too much to hope for, as Bonta abruptly cancelled the planned meeting late Sunday after news of it was leaked. Bonta blamed Paramount.

Things between Paramount and Bonta got even trickier over the weekend thanks to actor Mark Ruffalo, who fired off his opinion about the merger and was accused of perpetuating “antisemitic tropes.” Bonta and Ruffalo are known to have been chummy, and that furor surrounding the Marvel star could threaten to spill over into the larger merger/lawsuit conversation.

THREE TAKES

TheWrap, Roger Cheng — Cancelling the meeting is unhelpful, Cheng wrote Monday morning, because “settlement talks seem inevitable at this point.” So now both sides are left to evaluate and assess. Cheng’s analysis of what is “turning into the mother of all high-stakes poker games” is astute and pointed. While Paramount is “keen to wrap this lawsuit up” before the company has to start paying $7 million a day to Warner Bros. Discovery to keep the merger alive, Bonta is “under immense pressure from industry leaders and his own boss, Gov. Gavin Newsom, to find a resolution,” especially given the threats to move Paramount’s operations to Nashville. So this is now a question of “who’s entering the room with the most leverage.” The answer, per regulatory and government investigations attorney Braden Perry, is two-fold: “Legally, the states have the leverage. Politically, Paramount does.”

Bonta told TheWrap he “prefer[s] to resolve disputes in the boardroom, not the courtroom.” Paramount didn’t comment. Also important, Cheng noted, is that “just because the growing number of organizations and people … are calling for a settlement doesn’t mean Bonta will acquiesce.”

Page Six Hollywood, Ian Mohr — Somehow, Mark Ruffalo injected himself into the Paramount/California AG chatter over the weekend, Mohr reported. On Friday Ruffalo, an outspoken critic of the Israeli military, “shared a clip on Instagram of former Oracle CEO and current Paramount board member Safra Catz discussing Oracle’s ‘really profoundly scary technologies’ that the Israeli military used following the Oct. 7 terror attacks.” Ruffalo also noted that those technologies “will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you.” On top of that, the actor described Larry Ellison as a “classic oligarch” who is “consolidating the wealth of the world for [his family’s] own power and concentrated dominance.” Paramount hit back with accusations the actor used “antisemitic tropes.”

Bonta, who “appears to have enjoyed an open dialogue with the actor about the merger well before his lawsuit was filed on July 13,” is now being asked about his own relationship with Ruffalo. The actor has been condemned by the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation president and director general Jack Simony, Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk, and Bonta has come under scrutiny from LA Jewish Federation president and CEO Noah Farkas, who told Page Six, “[He] has done the right thing on some issues, but his record with Jewish Californians remains mixed.”

CNN’s Reliable Sources, Brian Stelter — Stelter devoted a huge portion of his newsletter to the stalled talks today. While “opinions differ” in terms of who is really in a position of power at this point, for Stelter it’s clear that “the states hold most, if not all, of the cards right now.” David Ellison is “eager” to wrap things up and has threatened to decamp to other parts of the U.S., but Bonta “has 11 other states and the Writers Guild of America in his corner.”

Stelter also revealed “expectations were low” heading into the cancelled get-together. LightShed Partners analyst Rich Greenfield told him that though Paramount “may be correct” legally, “the clock is working against the company,” as Stelter put it. He also mentioned the Ruffalo of it all but decidedly didn’t take a stance. “Ruffalo’s post has garnered 27 million views, according to X, far surpassing the social media reach of Paramount’s statement,” Stelter pointed out.

TAKEAWAY: Paramount and Bonta could find themselves battling things out in a court of law, but that’s only if the increasingly inevitable battle of public opinion doesn’t change things for them first. Ruffalo’s comments and the resulting condemnation have added new voices to the conversation, and at this point it seems the state may have a slight edge on the corporations — but it’s shaky. If this case is to be fought in the court of public opinion, then Bonta’s friendship with Ruffalo might be a key misstep. Per our authors today, things are getting even messier, and that may not change anytime soon — in a case where the status quo probably isn’t good for anyone.

📰 TOP SCOOPS & ANALYSIS 📰

SCOOP 🍨 Status, Natalie Korach —ESPN’s decision to go all-in on Pat McAfee might be celebrated by some, but there plenty of people within the organization who are not “thrilled after a summer of high-profile cuts.” In July, the network dismissed “recognizable on-air talent and personalities that had been mainstays at the sports media giant,” and “a grim mood has lingered around the network’s Bristol headquarters.” Employees “remain anxious about the network’s future and their own job security,” Korach reported. One person told Status, “People are really on edge because of the state of the business,” and they also questioned “where ESPN’s North Star is.” McAfee, who will join Monday Night Countdown, will also continue to host his weekly talk show and College GameDay. On top of that, he may launch his own alt-cast if the NFL approves it. But that “expanding footprint, of course, comes with considerable baggage,” Korach added. McAfee “has a history of using his platform in wildly irresponsible ways” and previously described Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark as a “white bitch.” His “rants are not limited to public health officials, college students, or members of the media.”

SCOOP 🍨 POLITICO Playbook, Will Steakin, Adam Wren, and Dasha Burns — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is taking on the influencer economy, “an issue increasingly consuming the political brand it helped birth.” She told PLAYBOOK “there’s a lot of things the laws haven’t caught up to,” which is why Florida is “rolling out the Foreign Propaganda Registration Act.” The amendment “would require influencers to disclose when they’re being paid by a foreign government to push political messaging.” Luna also said she knows of “a number of those people” who are “receiving foreign money,” but declined to name names: “I’m not going to put anyone on blast. That’s not my job.” Notably, she added, “I’ve seen contracts in the millions.”

SCOOP 🍨 CNN’s Reliable Sources, Brian Stelter — The Pentagon’s decision to fire the Stars and Stripes ombudsman endangers military service members, retired US Marine Corps captain David Nelson told Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. Nelson, who gave permission to Stelter to be quoted, wrote that he finds “this situation very disturbing.” He also asked, “Will this venerable newspaper soon be controlled and force fed favorable military stories only? Will our troops become less patriotic or lethal if they read a story unfavorable to the military?” The firings were “part of [Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth’s wider effort to control information and replace the press with propaganda,” Stelter also wrote.

ANALYSIS 👀 Barrett Media, Garrett Searight — The “conversations about 60 Minutes and Bari Weiss have been dominated by one word: decimated,” Searight wrote Monday morning. But what if that take isn’t accurate? Since the newsroom was wiped, “the dust has settled,” he continued, and “the roster staring back at us looks a lot different than the funeral procession many of us pictured a few months ago.” Per Searight, who previously had been skeptical about a 60 revamp, each of the new CBS hires “brings a real storytelling pedigree, and that matters.” The new hires also “scream reporter.”

“I’ll admit where I got this wrong,” Searight wrote of his own coverage. “I fully expected Weiss to install her sister, Suzy, somewhere in the correspondent lineup, and I’d already drafted a column ripping that decision apart before it happened. I genuinely believed it would confirm every worst fear about nepotism swallowing CBS News whole. It didn’t happen. Neither did the doomsday scenario where Weiss stacked the bench with MAGA-friendly personalities or brought in someone like Nick Shirley to chase viral clout over substance.”

ANALYSIS 👀 The Bulwark’s Morning Shots, Bill Kristol and Andrew Egger — Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy “hurried over to the Fox booth at the IndyCar race in D.C. yesterday” as part of an attempt to “curry favor from the boss,” Kristol wrote Monday. That’s just part of the game when “you’re a second-tier official in Trump’s cabinet, basically a laughingstock” and “the stunt you contributed [to presidential wins] —a televised Great American Road Trip for your family sponsored by companies regulated by your department.” Duffy, who was “asked about Trump’s feud with Canada,” inevitably “entered the fracas in a particularly stupid and offensive way.” Duffy “didn’t even try to defend Trump’s tariff war.” Instead, he parroted a completely false line: “We provide their security for them, and they take advantage of us.” Kristol pointed out, “Canada has fought alongside us in wars for over a century” (and funds its own Armed Forces).

ANALYSIS 👀  CJR’s The Media Today, Jem Bartholomew — CJR returned to the media crisis in the UK this morning, a crisis currently fueled by the coverage of the late Professor Jason Arday. That coverage was “racist,” “disproportionate,” and “utterly tragic,” wrote Bartholomew. It also “surfaced an ugly strain of sensationalism that has long been present within the British press—and reflected a MAGA-fication that recently has taken over elements of Britain’s media ecosystem.” Britain has a “long legacy” of such coverage that begins “with the British tabloids.” Bartholomew added that “Several British newspapers have long slanted rightward,” and “many now seem to thread their coverage with nativism, ethnocentrism, and, when the facts don’t fit the narrative, conspiratorial thinking.” The country’s media “has long been due for a deeper reckoning.”

📈BUSINESS OF MEDIA 🎥

Semafor, Max Tani — The New York Times is now testing its first generative AI tool for readers to use. The experimental search feature, which responds to inputs with NYT excerpts, links, and AI-generated summaries of the paper’s reporting, represents the news arm’s first test of AI-generated text that has no oversight from a worker. It’s ostensibly designed to make a better search experience, but we’ll see how the tests perform. QUOTE 📣 A Times rep says, “This experimental feature is an example of how we are using the latest technology to create a better search experience.”

Semafor, Max Tani — Matthew Mabry, the Chief Financial Officer of the Daily Wire, is departing the conservative media company at the same time it scales back its expensive scripted streaming business, sells off secondary assets like Jeremy’s Razors, and attempts to raise as much as $100 million in investment at a $750 million valuation with an eye toward potentially going public. QUOTE 📣 “In addition to [former co-CEO Jeremy] Boreing’s departure last year and Mabry’s departure in recent days, the company’s former chief operating officer, Chris Williams, left in May.”

Digiday Daily, Krystal Scanlon — OpenAI is sharpening its commercial focus on enterprise advertisers by hiring for a dedicated marketing role to position ChatGPT as a “premium advertising platform.” This is a complement to its efforts to court smaller SMB advertisers and automate ad creative.

Barrett Media, Jason Barrett — The radio business experienced a chaotic Friday with several major industry shakeups breaking almost simultaneously. Longtime host Damon Amendolara announced his exit from SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, Saga Communications saw the sudden departure of executive Pat Paxton, and Chicago’s 104.3 The Score initiated a major lineup overhaul. The flurry of sudden departures and shifts highlights the ongoing friction and volatility across the sports and talk radio landscape. Barrett’s column on this is worth a read because he responds directly to critics who don’t think he should be covering the churn. QUOTE 📣 “Friday was a crazy day in the radio business… Some didn’t like that we broke the news.”

The Wakeup, Sean McNulty — Sony Pictures dominated the late summer box office, taking the top two positions over the weekend. Leading the charge, the Tom Holland-led blockbuster Spider-Man: Brand New Day brought in another $39 million in its fourth weekend to surpass 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home as the third highest-grossing film of all-time domestically at $855 million. Meanwhile, Sony and Blumhouse’s horror sequel Insidious: Out of the Further debuted in second place, securing $25.3 million on an $18 million budget. QUOTE 📣 “SONY takes the top 2 slots this weekend to finish out summer strong, with a promising Resident Evil on deck in September to round out a very nice Q3.”

OTHER COOL STUFF

Morning Brew — Are you reading this at work? If so, why? August 24 (today!) is officially the most popular day of the year for U.S. employees to call out sick, according to a survey by PTO management company Flamingo.

POLITICO Playbook — It’s not really surprising to learn there’s a fortified bunker under the White House, since, like, of course the President of the United States needs a safe place to go if all hell breaks loose. What is more surprising is that this tidbit is weakening Trump’s case that the expensive new ballroom is a security necessity.

👀 WHAT GOT MISSED? 👀

Noahpinion, Noah Smith — Is the biggest factor driving the unhappiness epidemic in the United States economic, or is it… personal? That’s the pretty interesting question Smith asked Monday morning. Of course, it can certainly be argued the two go hand-in-hand, but “happiness surveys show an increasingly despondent populace,” Smith pointed out. The answers for making people happier are usually “economic,” such as “ideas for policies that will improve the material well-being of either the whole populace, or some segment of it.”

For quite some time, he added, “I basically bought the narrative that at least some of the unrest of the 2010s was due to angry Millennials who had gotten screwed by the Great Recession,” but that’s something Smith is doubting as he’s seen “Millennials do better and better economically.” While it’s true “economics still matters, of course — for humanitarian reasons, if nothing else,” Smith also insisted, “A large contingent of Americans may now simply care less about adding to their bank accounts than about questions like ‘Who are the real Americans?’, or ‘Does one race deserve special treatment in the eyes of the law?’”

🏆 NEWSLETTER OF THE DAY 🏆

CJR’s The Media Today, Jem Bartholomew — In addition to Bartholomew’s thoughtful and strong take on the state of the British media and how MAGA ideologies may have inflamed what was already a large problem, today’s CJR also elevated other important stories.

Those include additional Pentagon firings. Erik Slavin, the former editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, was fired alongside reporter Lara Korte and publisher Max D. Lederer, Jr. As Slavin said, he and Korte were fired for “speaking publicly against editorial interference from the Defense Department.”

Elsewhere, Bartholomew took a look at ABC’s lawsuit against the FCC, reports that several journalists were held at gunpoint while attending an event at a Southern California military base, and the Daily Mail lawsuit that resulted in several people — including “Prince Harry, the singer Elton John, the actor Liz Hurley, and four other claimants” — being ordered to pay $13 million to the outlet. Today’s CJR is a great example of what really works well with media newsletters: addressing and illustrating why news readers may have already been exposed to continues to be relevant days, or even weeks, later.

This newsletter was produced by Lindsey Ellefson.