Judge Martínez-Olguín Enters Paramount-WBD Consent Decree: Appointee-Run News Editorial Independence Board, Colorado and Washington Decline Section III.D

Court entry (order date 2026-09-30). On the docket of State of California et al. v. Paramount Skydance Corp., 4:26-cv-07116-AMO (N.D. Cal.), Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín signed the order granting the joint motion to enter the consent decree and dissolve the stipulation and order not to close (Doc. 266) and the decree itself (Doc. 267) on September 30, 2026. The case was marked terminated October 1. The settlement had been announced September 21 (announcement date; decree filed 09/21 as Doc. 244). At a September 24 status conference the judge ordered responses to Sen. Cory Booker’s letter and amicus briefs before ruling; AP reports she said hopes for stronger terms “do not rise to the level of legal violations upon which the Court can reject the parties’ negotiated resolution.” The merger closed six days later (see 2026-10-06–paramount-skydance-closes-wbd-acquisition-cnn-cbs-news-under-one-owner-supersedes-pause).

News Editorial Independence Board (Section III.D, text as filed 09/21). Formed within 180 days of closing; five journalists with 10+ years of practice; no more than two from one political party; appointed by the combined company’s own board of directors, removable only for “good cause,” three-year expected terms; no government member or government approval rights; reports to the board through the Chief Compliance Officer. Role: set News Editorial Principles from CBS News and CNN standards in effect at the Effective Date and resolve staff-management disputes under them; scope limited to news produced principally for U.S. distribution; runs for the five-year Commitment Period. The decree names a Monitoring Trustee jointly selected by a State Committee, and an internal Compliance Monitor; it does not name a separate auditor. Structural point: the body that adjudicates editorial-independence disputes is seated by the owner it is meant to check.

Non-signing states. Colorado does not join Sections III.C.1 or III.D; Washington does not join III.D. Both are plaintiffs on the other terms. So ten of the twelve plaintiff states are party to the editorial-board section; Colorado and Washington are not.

WGA, separate private settlement (announcement date 2026-09-21). TheWrap: Paramount Skydance will pay $17.5 million to the WGA health plan plus the guild’s legal fees and has signed an agreement prohibiting layoffs at CBS News’ broadcast division. The five-year term and the writers-only scope come from the headline and the guild’s statement as relayed by a search summary, and were not confirmed in a fetched body text; treat as unverified. The WGA said it could not continue alone after the states settled and that it still believes the merger will damage writers.

Caveat. Decree terms above are from the proposed decree filed 09/21 (Doc. 244). The entered version (Doc. 267) was not read; whether the court changed any term is unconfirmed.