Tanya Miller targets Trump-backed Paramount merger in Georgia’s AG race
Tanya Miller is using her Democratic campaign for attorney general to oppose Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery — a purchase she warns could threaten jobs at Atlanta-based CNN and Turner Broadcasting.
The Trump administration approved the merger last month. But California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other Democratic attorneys general have sued to block the sale in federal court, with a hearing on a preliminary injunction scheduled for Friday.
Miller, a state representative from Atlanta, called on Georgia’s Republican Attorney General Chris Carr to join that lawsuit this week. She warned the merger could harm competition across the entertainment industry and have dire consequences for consumers, theaters and industry workers.
“Twelve attorneys general across the country just did what Georgia’s Attorney General refuses to do: fight back,” Miller said. “This merger will kill good-paying Georgia jobs and jack up prices on everything from streaming services to movie tickets for Georgia families.”
Carr’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Paramount’s purchase has been under heightened political scrutiny after the company, which owns CBS News, agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over an interview on the CBS program “60 Minutes.” And critics have condemned Paramount for cuts at the network and the recent firing of “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley.
Carr has been Georgia’s attorney general since he was appointed to the office in 2016 by former Gov. Nathan Deal. He was elected to the job in 2018 and again in 2022. He did not run for reelection this year, instead choosing to run for governor. He lost in the Republican primary in May.
Miller faces Republican state Rep. Brian Strickland in the Nov. 3 general election. She criticized Carr for staying silent on the issue, saying Georgians should expect the same from Strickland.
“As attorney general, I will never sit on the sidelines while corporate greed threatens Georgia jobs and rips off Georgia families,” she said.
Strickland said Georgia doesn’t need “an activist Attorney General that just wants to file lawsuits to make headlines while hard working tax payers pay the bills.”
“As Attorney General, every matter like this will be examined to determine whether lawsuits like these are in the best interests of protecting Georgia families,” he said.
Analysts estimate that up to 6,000 workers nationwide could lose their jobs. Many of those cuts could be concentrated in Georgia, as Warner is the parent company of Atlanta-based CNN and Turner Broadcasting, which include cable stalwarts TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network. The consolidation could also result in Georgia consumers paying more for things like streaming, cable or movie tickets. It could also limit choices in entertainment and news programming.
The lawsuit filed by California and other states alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, a core U.S. antitrust law designed to prevent monopolies and protect competition. It prohibits corporate mergers where the effect “may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.”
If the merger goes through, the combined media company would control nearly one-third of motion pictures and basic cable programming, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a news release.
In a statement, Paramount said the lawsuit “distorts settled antitrust law and is based on a misrepresentation of competition in the entertainment industry today.” Paramount counters that the merger will allow the company to invest more aggressively in premium content, theatrical releases and creative talent.
The merger’s potential impact on Atlanta’s workforce is tangible. Turner, once one of Atlanta’s largest media employers, has seen its local workforce shrink through successive corporate mergers with many operations shifted to New York or Los Angeles. Turner employees fear they may lose their jobs and Atlanta film professionals fear they could see less opportunity.
The attorneys general want to halt the merger until after the lawsuit concludes. A hearing on the states’ request for a temporary restraining order is set for Friday. The attorneys general have asked the judge to rule by Wednesday.
“We will fight any effort to block a merger that has clear benefits for consumers, creators and the wider entertainment industry, and where the alternative is to entrench a failing status quo,” Paramount said in a statement.
Bonta said “it’s not too late” for Republican attorneys general to join the lawsuit.
“I think there have been Republican attorneys general that have been critical of this proposed deal,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that they have not joined us in this case.”
