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California AG Rob Bonta talks tough on Paramount, but says he’s ‘open’ to settlement talks if they’re ‘sincere’

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Steigrad, A. (2026, September 17). California AG Rob Bonta talks tough on Paramount, but says he’s ‘open’ to settlement talks if they’re ‘sincere’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/17/media/california-ag-rob-bonta-talks-tough-on-paramount-but-says-hes-open-to-settlement-talks-if-theyre-sincere/

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New York Post · collected 2026-09-17 · by Alexandra Steigrad

Quick Summary

California Attorney General Rob Bonta addressed his legal battle against Paramount Skydance’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery during a speech at the Atlantic Festival in Manhattan on Thursday. Despite claiming success so far, he indicated openness to settlement talks if they are conducted “in good faith.” This comes amid threats by Paramount CEO David Ellison to relocate thousands of jobs out of California unless Bonta drops his lawsuit, and pressure from prominent Democrats urging for a resolution.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

California Attorney General Rob Bonta expressed firm opposition to Paramount Skydance’s proposed $81 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery during a speech in Manhattan but indicated he would be open to settlement talks if Paramount approaches "in good faith." Top Democrats in California have been pushing for a resolution, as CEO David Ellison has threatened to leave the state and take thousands of jobs with him if Bonta continues pursuing legal action. Despite this pressure, Bonta emphasized that his case to block the merger is strong and stated, “We are always open to coming to the table if it is in good faith and sincere.” Paramount, Warner Bros., and the Writers Guild of America announced two days of talks aimed at reaching a resolution next month; however, Bonta had previously canceled a meeting with Paramount over alleged leaks of inaccurate information.

Written for “California Antitrust Lawsuit” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 California Antitrust Lawsuit
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 52 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Rob Bonta's stance on Paramount's threat to move out of California, they describe different parts of the ongoing situation: Article A focuses on the threat itself and initial reactions, while Article B covers Bonta's public statement at a festival expressing his position on potential settlement talks.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Attorney General Bonta's stance on settlement talks before an agreement, while Article B reports on a subsequent agreement and reactions to it.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 6 of 42 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A discusses the broader political context and opposition against Bonta's lawsuit, while Article B focuses on a specific statement made by Bonta during an interview about being open to settlement talks.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss related events surrounding the $111 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, but they describe different aspects of the situation occurring on separate days.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss Paramount's potential move due to legal disputes, Article A focuses on Paramount's concrete steps towards leaving California and the deadline for an agreement, whereas Article B reports on the California Attorney General's stance on settlement talks.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 4 of 34 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the ongoing legal battle over Paramount's merger, not a single specific incident or occurrence.”
The Independent
Hedges 5 of 13 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss negotiations and legal challenges regarding Paramount's merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, they describe different phases of the ongoing saga: Article A describes Bonta's stance on settlement talks in a speech, while Article B reports on specific proposed concessions ($1.5 billion pledge) in advanced discussions.”
New York Post
Hedges 7 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss negotiations between Paramount and California AG Rob Bonta regarding a lawsuit over the merger with Warner Bros., they describe different stages of the ongoing legal battle rather than the same specific incident.”
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A describes AG Rob Bonta's stance and openness to settlement talks before any agreement was reached, while Article B reports on the actual settlement that occurred later.”
NBC News
Hedges 1 of 29 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses AG Rob Bonta's stance and willingness for settlement talks, while Article B reports on the actual settlement reached after those potential talks.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16008 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Alexandra Steigrad
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Instead, the program, which aired last Sunday, reported that in 2012, a US judge ruled that Diawara could not be deported to Mali, a Muslim-majority nation, because he “converted to Christianity” eight months earlier.
🔮 “60 Minutes” instead reported that Diawara insisted he couldn’t be sent back to Mali because he converted to Christianity and feared he would be religiously persecuted in the Muslim-majority country.
🔮 Meanwhile, Kushner is expected to sue both Simon & Schuster and Cole as early as this week, with a potential suit against Vanity Fair to follow.
🔮 Emphasizing that the next Condé CEO has to get along with Wintour, one insider said “no exec will be able to touch Vogue’s business without her signoff.”
🔮 Recent months have seen Pope Leo go on the offensive against AI, with the religious leader recently saying the tech could create a “paradise of machines” that risks undermining humanity — echoing some of the most dire prediction from AI doomers.
🔮 Skydance CEO David Ellison reassured a nervous Anderson Cooper that CNN will retain its editorial independence in the wake of the blockbuster Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
🔮 Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison — who revealed on Friday that the name of the combined media giant will be Skydance — is mulling possible changes to Weiss’ role as CBS News editor-in-chief once the deal is completed, according to sources close to the situation.
🔮 Disney is planning to restructure its sprawling television operation, which is expected to result in hundreds of layoffs, according to a report.
🔮 But insiders also pointed to the fact that co-hosts Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan, and George Stephanopoulos are rarely on set together.
🔮 Although Ellison has not made any public statements about the leadership structure of CNN, there has been much speculation that Weiss, who is the Editor-in-Chief of CBS News, could oversee CNN as well.
Also by Alexandra Steigrad
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Alexandra Steigrad →

Topics

Bonta California Dems Paramount The Post

Subjects

Paramount ORG · 9× Bonta PERSON · 7× California GPE · 4× Dems NORP · 2× Hollywood GPE · 2× The Post ORG · 2× Manhattan GPE · 1× Paramount Skydance’s ORG · 1× Rob Bonta PERSON · 1× Warner Bros. Discovery ORG · 1×

Narrative

Reached by The Post, Bass’ office wouldn’t confirm whether she was directly involved in negotiations, saying only that she was ”focused on protecting and fighting for jobs in LA, including critical jobs in the entertainment industry that have been a vital part of Los Angeles’ economy.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 And we will always explore an opportunity to get the results that we want based on our evaluation of the case at the table,” Bonta said.

Claims (23 extracted, 0 hedged)

California Attorney General Rob Bonta talked tough Thursday, claiming he has been winning his legal battle against Paramount Skydance’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery — but said he is “open” to settlement talks if Paramount comes to the table “in good faith.” asserted
Paramount → talk → faith
Speaking at the Atlantic Festival in Manhattan, Bonta crowed that the suit to block the $81 billion mega-deal is looking like a slam dunk, even as top Dems in the Golden State have been urging him to settle. asserted
Dems → speak → him
Asked about the prospect of talks — as CEO David Ellison threatens to leave the state and take thousands of jobs with him if Bonta doesn’t drop the case — the prosecutor sounded a more conciliatory tone. asserted
prosecutor → ask → tone
“We are always open to coming to the table if it is in good faith and it is sincere. asserted
it → come → faith
And we will always explore an opportunity to get the results that we want based on our evaluation of the case at the table,” Bonta said. asserted
Bonta → explore → table
The AG, Paramount and the Writers Guild of America announced Tuesday they’d hold two days of talks with an eye to reaching a resolution next month. asserted
they → announce → resolution
Last month, Bonta cancelled a sit-down with Paramount at the last minute, accusing the studio of leaking inaccurate details beforehand. asserted
Bonta → cancel → details
Speaking Thursday, he again rejected Paramount’s request for California and 11 other states joining his suit to put up a $1.88 billion bond to address the costs of delay in completing the deal. asserted
California → speak → deal
I think it’s buyer’s remorse,” Bonta scoffed. asserted
Bonta → think → ?
He accused Paramount of trying to “rewrite an agreement” to begin the trial next June, adding that the bond request was an “effort to manufacture, invent, generate leverage in the case.” asserted
request → accuse → case
Recent weeks have seen Cali Dems including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass publicly urge Bonta to settle with Paramount, saying it’s vital to keep tens of thousands of Paramount jobs in the state. asserted
it → see → state
Bonta projected confidence in the face of the mounting pressure from members of his own party — part of a Paramount strategy of turning him into a pariah, as The Post reported Thursday. asserted
Post → project → pariah
“We sued and we’ve been winning in the case so far,” the prosecutor said. asserted
prosecutor → sue → case
“They continue threats to leave the state of California. asserted
They → continue → California
I can’t comment on what a company decides to do, especially a company that has professed a commitment to Hollywood and to California,” he added. asserted
he → comment → California
“If they make that choice to leave, that is their choice and their choice alone — they own it. asserted
they → make → it
It lies at their feet. asserted
It → lie → feet
We will do our job. asserted
We → do → job
We have a job to enforce the law without fear, without favor.” asserted
We → have → favor
Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. asserted
Report → start → news
TMZ reported Wednesday that Paramount came close to announcing its escape from LA on Tuesday, but backed down at the last minute. asserted
Paramount → report → minute
The report put new pressure on city and state officials to keep the entertainment giant from joining the exodus of production and entertainment jobs from Hollywood. asserted
report → put → Hollywood
Reached by The Post, Bass’ office wouldn’t confirm whether she was directly involved in negotiations, saying only that she was ”focused on protecting and fighting for jobs in LA, including critical jobs in the entertainment industry that have been a vital part of Los Angeles’ economy.” asserted
that → reach → economy
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