FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 7, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
Coalition to Hold Teach-In and Petition Delivery Outside Paramount Studios, Warning of "Media Takeover" Following CBS Sale
"The gloves are off; the US minds and hearts are now fair game for a full takeover by hate, violence, and a distortion of reality."
LOS ANGELES, CA — A coalition of activist groups, including CODEPINK LA, Entertainment Labor for Palestine, and Indivisible, will hold a public teach-in and petition delivery outside Paramount Studios on Wednesday, January 7th, at 11:00 AM. The action aims to expose the dangerous media takeover following the recent acquisition of Paramount and CBS by David Ellison, and to protest the airing of Israeli propaganda ads on Paramount platforms.
- When: Wednesday, January 7th, at 11:30 AM PST
- Where: Outside Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
- Who: CODEPINK LA, Entertainment Labor for Palestine, Indivisible, and allied organizations
Recently, CBS abruptly canceled a major 60 Minutes investigation into the fate of deported migrants in a blaring example of the new leadership's biased editorial interference. The report was pulled not for inaccuracy, but because it exposed state violence that powerful interests didn’t want broadcast.
"This is a pivotal moment for our media landscape," said Jodie Evans, co-founder of CODEPINK and producer of the documentary The Brainwashing of My Dad, a documentary that explores the radical and damaging changes filmmaker Jen Senko witnessed in her father, whose exposure to right-wing talk radio and Fox News turned him into an angry fanatic.
"The Ellisons are going to make FOX News look like child's play. The gloves are off; the US minds and hearts are now fair game for a full takeover by hate, violence, and a distortion of reality," Evans continued.
The teach-in will also highlight the coalition's condemnation of Paramount for airing Israeli propaganda ads that spread dangerous misinformation about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. One cited ad claims Palestinians are receiving sufficient food for 3,000 calories per person daily—a statement that is contrary to every human rights report and on-the-ground observers. Another ad cites the "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation," which has been linked to violent murders of Palestinians seeking aid. That type of programming is equivalent to Holocaust denialism.
The media consolidation under Ellison, coupled with the appointment of commentator Bari Weiss as a new editor, signals a deliberate shift toward right-wing propaganda that whitewashes violence, suppresses critical journalism, and purposely lies to and manipulates its viewers. David Ellison and father, Larry Ellison, have now acquired Paramount Global (CBS, MTV), they are in talks to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO, CNN), and have a stake in the U.S. TikTok operations. They also own The Free Press, Wiess’s former right-wing news site. With clear evidence of working in the interests of the U.S. and Israeli governments, the media monopoly being created is essentially a state-run media apparatus.
The petition demands transparency in editorial decisions, an end to the airing of propaganda ads, and public accountability from the new ownership of Paramount and CBS.
For more information, please contact Jodie Evans at [email protected]
