Colbert in the Bardo & Substack’s Next Chapter

Stephen Colbert
The gesture has invited a lot of reasonable scrutiny: Was Colbert, a frequent Trump critic, a blood sacrifice for F.C.C. approval? Photo: Griffin Lipson/BFA.com
Dylan Byers
July 18, 2025

On Tuesday, Skydance C.E.O. David Ellison and his legal counsel met with F.C.C. chairman Brendan Carr and his deputies to discuss Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Paramount, which finally appears set for approval, on the heels of Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump over his 60 Minutes lawsuit. Among other things, Ellison and Carr discussed Skydance’s “commitment to unbiased journalism and its embrace of diverse viewpoints,” according to a summary of the meeting written by Ellison’s lawyer, Matthew Brill, and obtained by my partner Eriq Gardner, who slipped it to me on deadline. These principles, Brill wrote, “will ensure CBS’s editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers.”