FILM DESCRIPTION
Murdering 60 Minutes examines the broader takeover of legacy media and what it means for journalism, democracy, and the public’s access to independent information when trusted journalism is reshaped by the people who can control it. Using 60 Minutes as its central case study, the film explores how corporate consolidation can weaken the most respected news institutions and what the public can do to defend a free press. If 60 Minutes covered what happened to itself after Bari Weiss took over, this is what it would look like.
(Runtime: 25 min.)
A Robert Greenwald Film
Producers: Robert Greenwald and Tim Peck
Director and Editor: Sean O'Brien
Additional Editing: Tim Peck and Ted Griswold
Featuring Voiceover By: Davina Robinson, Mark LaPointe, Johanna Larson, Cynthia Faye Christensen, Victoria Lynn Carroll, Tim Wetzel
OPEN LETTER FROM ROBERT GREENWALD
From Robert Greenwald, Founder of Brave New Films
I’m Mad as Hell - And I’m Fighting Back Against the Merger
The Ellisons and Bari Weiss are at it again.
When in doubt, attack your critics by claiming antisemitism.
They have done it before, and now they are doing it again.
Back in June, Paramount executives were already suggesting that antisemitism was behind opposition to their proposed Warner Bros. merger. Paramount chief legal officer Makan Delrahim told the Los Angeles Times: “Some of these people are trying to inflict harm on this transaction really because of their own antisemitic views.”
TheWrap separately reported Delrahim attacking merger critics for what he called “fear mongering” and “antisemitic views.”
And now, two months later, Paramount has used the same charge against one of the merger’s most prominent critics, Mark Ruffalo, accusing him of invoking “antisemitic tropes” and calling his criticism “a bridge too far.”
Ruffalo and Matt Stoller reported that artists they approached about opposing the merger were afraid to put their names on the record because they feared being blacklisted or retaliated against. Those fears were hardly theoretical: Paramount had already pulled advertising from The Ankler and reportedly told talent not to speak with its reporters after one of its journalists publicly supported #BlockTheMerger.
As Mark Ruffalo went on to say, criticizing an Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract or the executives supplying that technology is not the same thing as criticizing Jewish people.
These attacks are disgusting and dishonest. As a New York Jew, I feel particular pain watching antisemitism used as a propaganda tool by powerful people seeking to discredit their critics while they work to take control of more and more of our media. And they come in the context of a growing climate of fear among people in Hollywood who want to oppose this merger.
Then there is the merger itself and we have been here before. The history of media mergers could not be clearer: consolidation is followed again and again by layoffs.
When Disney acquired much of 21st Century Fox, layoffs began almost immediately and roughly 4,000 jobs were expected to disappear as the companies were combined.
After David Ellison's Skydance completed its merger with Paramount in 2025, Paramount announced approximately 2,000 layoffs, about 10% of its workforce.
And now they want to do it again except much, much bigger.
The proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. combination is a roughly $110 billion mega-merger that would concentrate extraordinary power over film, television, streaming and news in one corporate empire. A recent Los Angeles analysis found that the proposed Paramount-Warner merger could put 4,500 L.A. entertainment jobs at risk.
This is a billionaire using political access to buy up an ever-larger portion of the American media.
We should fight antisemitism wherever it exists. But we should fight just as hard against cynical attempts to use accusations of antisemitism to shut down legitimate debate. And we should fight a mega-merger that threatens jobs, competition and an independent press.
I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore.
Which is why Brave New Films is producing a new short documentary, MURDERING 60 MINUTES: what a segment of 60 minutes would look like if it investigated the efforts to murder 60 minutes, taking a hard look at the proposed merger, the transformation of CBS News, and what has happened to 60 Minutes since Bari Weiss and Ellisons took over.
Our response is to do what we have always done at Brave New Films: investigate, document, expose what is happening, and give people the information they need to fight back.
I ask you to join me in fully supporting #BlockTheMerger and fighting back against media consolidation and political corruption.
Sincerely,
Robert Greenwald
TAKE ACTION. THE FIGHT ISN’T OVER. HELP BLOCK THE MERGER.
Join the campaign to #BlockTheMerger.
The proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger would put even more control over our news, entertainment, and culture in the hands of one massive media company.
But this merger is not a done deal.
Twelve state Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger, and the case is now moving forward in federal court. Public pressure and real-world evidence about the harms of media consolidation still matter.
Learn what you can do to oppose the merger, spread the word, support the campaign, and help protect independent journalism, filmmakers, creative workers, and audiences.
SHARE YOUR STORY
Have you been affected by media consolidation?
If you work in journalism, film, television, production, distribution, exhibition, or another part of the media industry, your experience can help show regulators and policymakers what consolidation looks like in the real world.
#BlockTheMerger is collecting first-hand accounts about job losses, shrinking opportunities, reduced budgets and resources, fewer buyers and distribution outlets, restricted audience access, and editorial interference or censorship. Stories may be submitted confidentially or anonymously.
Your experience is evidence. Help make sure the people deciding the future of this merger hear from the people who will actually be affected by it.