Laura Poitras, Geeta Gandbhir Sound Alarm Over Paramount-WBD Merger’s Impact on Documentary: “Deeply Problematic on Absolutely Every Level”
Two respected documentary filmmakers are sounding the alarm over the prospect of Paramount Skydance merging with Warner Bros. Discovery, a corporate marriage that would combine CBS, CNN and HBO under one roof.
Oscar-winning director Laura Poitras and Oscar-nominated helmer Geeta Gandbhir raised concerns about the impact the merger would have on a weakened documentary ecosystem, editorial independence and access to archival materials during a press call organized by Freedom of the Press Foundation on Wednesday.
The event, also hosted by Democracy Defenders Fund, the International Documentary Association, Future Film Coalition and Free Press, focused on the threat that the merger posed to journalistic freedom and documentary production. It’s part of a larger attempt to express opposition to the $110 billion deal as it faces final regulatory hurdles. Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has offered favorable press coverage in exchange for approval of the deal.
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But in her remarks, Poitras — the filmmaker behind Citizenfour and last year’s Cover-Up — focused on the impact to Hollywood filmmakers. Such a merger would be “devastating for the documentary community,” she argued, explaining, “We already have seen consolidation, we already have seen broadcasters and streamers moving away from political content, and this would just mean less voices, less diversity, less content. It’s awful for the communities, it’s awful for filmmakers and creatives and it’s terrible for the public.”
The filmmaker argued that her critiques weren’t a partisan issue. “I think if Netflix was the one who was trying to make this deal, we’d also be sitting here, raising questions about this merger,” she said.
“Consolidation of media is bad for the public, bad for creators, bad for the public’s right to know.”
Gandbhir, who directed last year’s The Perfect Neighbor, said that ongoing consolidation in Hollywood has already resulted in “less competition, fewer places to pitch, more downward pressure and control over budgets, much less risk-taking and leading to broad, homogenized content which reaches an audience.” In documentary specifically, “Now broadly what sells is celebrity, true crime or sports and that is it. So challenging films, experimental films or films that don’t appeal to the broadest possible base are being forced out of the marketplace.”
Gandbhir and Poitras previously went public with their opposition to the merger, having signed on to a starry letter from 1,000-plus Hollywood figures pushing back against the deal. But with Wednesday’s remarks, they went into detail on the deleterious impact they believe the consolidation would have on their field.
Gandbhir aired worries that Warner Bros. Discovery-owned HBO, which she called “an essential backbone for American documentary,” would change course as a result of the merger. Noting how the Trump administration has cut funding to public media, she said “now they have their sights set on HBO and CNN, as we know, two of the few remaining outlets that fund or require independent documentary films in the U.S.”
She pointed out that there’s already been a chilling effect at major companies when it comes to distributing films on topics that might be considered political or controversial. While shopping her short The Devil is Busy, about an Atlanta abortion clinic, Gandbhir said she was told by some executives that they wouldn’t distribute a story on the topic of abortion. HBO released the film in 2025.
Access to archival materials may also be at stake in the merger, Gandbhir said. Many documentary filmmakers rely heavily on archival materials to tell their stories and access to that work can be denied or priced beyond reach, she said. Folding the CNN and CBS archives into one entity “who has shown themselves to be active in editorial suppression is a great threat to documentary filmmakers,” she argued.
Over the course of the press call, other critics of the deal — journalists Kara Swisher, Jim Acosta and Katie Phang — also aired about their reservations. The call followed the release of a letter signed by more than 200 journalists, documentary filmmakers and academics opposing the Paramount-WBD merger.
“We urge federal and state regulators and lawmakers, as well as Paramount shareholders and news consumers, to treat this merger not as an arms-length and above board business transaction, but as what it plainly is: a political arrangement to circumvent constitutional safeguards, with severe consequences for American democracy,” the letter stated.
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