The following video by Media and Democracy Project opens referencing a quote by our friend, former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson.

“Whatever is your first priority, you have little hope of making any progress with it if you can’t get media coverage – fair and favorable media coverage.” –  Your Second Priority: A Former FCC Commissioner Speaks Out, by Nicholas Johnson

Here is MAD’s description of this event.

Democracy is under siege. Oligarchs Larry and David Ellison are consolidating their personal control of information, and media. TikTokUS, CBS News are under their control and they are attempting to use massive debt and foreign cash to take over Warner Bros Discovery (HBO, CNN and many cable channels and media properties). This is not an ordinary merger. This is a debt time-bomb and would mean harmful hyper-consolidation of the media and entertainment industry under the control of one family – while saddling a merged company with $80+ billion dollars in debt.

Watch and learn from a distinguished panel of experts about the largest attempted leveraged buyout in history – and why that matters to the American media landscape, national security, press freedom, workers, consumers and democracy.

Why does the massive debt used to finance the takeover matter? What would the 39%+ foreign ownership by 3 petro-state (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar) sovereign wealth funds mean for Americans? Past mega-mergers have failed consumers, employees, shareholders – could this be different?

How do Data Centers, AI and Larry Ellison’s personal finances impact the deal and stability of a possible merged entity?

Panelists:

Alvaro Bedoya: Senior Advisor, American Economic Liberties Project and served as a Federal Trade Commissioner from 2022 to 2025.

Pete Johnson: Visiting Assistant Professor at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He specializes in US film and television industry history, media finance and economics, and the role of narrative in shaping business outcomes.

Deborah Jaramillo: Professor of Film and Television Studies, and Director of Graduate Studies for the American Studies Program at Boston, University

Twelve state Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit to #BlockTheMerger on the grounds it violates anti-consolidation laws, but have not emphasized the hazards of debt and financing – and national security and press freedom.

Jaramillo and Johnson are co-authors of the insightful and powerful analysis that demonstrates the harms of the attempted-takeover: “The Costs of Consolidation: Arguments and Evidence for Blocking the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger” https://macrolab.ucsd.edu/paramount-warner-merger/  

Follow Meda and Democracy Project on BlueSky.