After all whereas the deal would possibly make sense on paper for the big entities concerned, actual life isn’t lived on paper, and there will likely be tangible penalties for the workers, customers, and the world at giant. Staff inside Paramount have been already staring down the barrel of doubtless layoffs because the combining of two corporations made a number of jobs redundant. Now those self same staff must endure two acquisitions. The aforementioned Stephen Colbert state of affairs hammers residence simply how expendable anybody can turn into in these conditions.
Then there’s the remainder of us. What does a world of a mixed Paramount/Warner Bros. seem like for us? Not nice, Bob! As soon as the FCC decides a deal is within the public curiosity (which: lol), the next manufacturers will likely be owned by the identical entity: Paramount Footage, Paramount Tv Studios, Paramount+, BET, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, Showtime, CBS (and all associates), Paramount+, Warner Bros. Leisure, DC Studios, Fandango, all Turner properties, New Line Cinema, The CW, HBO, HBO Max, and CNN.
Whereas that checklist is massive and overwhelming, it’s the way in which through which the informational panorama will get smaller that will likely be extra regarding. Ought to this acquisition undergo, all the greatest manufacturers in conventional movie and tv media (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, Warner Bros. Studios, Common Footage, Paramount Footage, Walt Disney Firm, Columbia Footage) will basically be consolidated right down to an possession of 4 (Paramount/Warner, Disney, NBCUniversal, Sony). From there it’s solely a hop, skip, and a bounce to 2. And when you’re on two, you would possibly as nicely convey issues down to at least one.
This narrowing of range and competitors is a surefire approach to make artwork worse, plain and easy. Much more troubling, nevertheless, is the methods through which it might curtail social, cultural, and political dissent. Each Warner Bros. and Paramount have their very own information and informational merchandise within the type of CNN and CBS Information. Taking a kind of off the board through consolidation is one other brutal blow to already gut-shot media panorama. And that’s even assuming that any mixed entity would nonetheless be invested in any stage of media independence and sound journalism, which latest proof means that Paramount Skydance is just not.
All for a Harry Potter/Star Trek crossover that no person requested for.
