In a whirlwind of high-stakes negotiations and political posturing, the American media landscape is on the brink of a seismic transformation. Over the past week, a cascade of revelations and deal-making has brought together some of the country’s most powerful business and media figures—Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Rupert Murdoch, and his son Lachlan—at the crossroads of technology, politics, and public discourse. The convergence comes as President Donald Trump and his administration push for U.S. control over TikTok’s American operations and weigh approval of a blockbuster merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The stakes? Nothing less than the future of how Americans receive their news, entertainment, and information—and who gets to shape those narratives. As reported by Benzinga, California Governor Gavin Newsom sounded the alarm on September 22, 2025, accusing Republicans of “buying up platforms to control the news and information you receive,” warning that “they are censoring you in real time.” Newsom’s comments followed President Trump’s own preview, on Fox News’ ‘Sunday Briefing,’ of a high-profile investor consortium poised to take over TikTok’s U.S. algorithm. “You know, they’re very well-known people. And Larry Ellison is one of them. He’s involved. He’s a great guy. Michael Dell is involved. I hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan is involved,” Trump said, adding that Rupert Murdoch “is probably going to be in the group.”
According to coverage by NBC News and The Globe and Mail, the Murdochs’ involvement would likely come through Fox Corp., not as a personal family investment—a distinction that points to a broader corporate strategy. Fox’s push into digital media comes amid softness in the broadcast TV sector, and the TikTok deal could offer a fresh avenue to reach younger, digitally native audiences. The White House, meanwhile, has emphasized that the emerging agreement would put Americans in six of seven TikTok U.S. board seats, with Oracle Corp.—helmed by Ellison—overseeing data and privacy, and receiving a licensed copy of the recommendation algorithm retrained on U.S. data. Officials claim these measures address longstanding national security concerns, while critics warn of the risks posed by consolidating influence among a handful of powerful media and tech titans.
The potential TikTok acquisition is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. On September 11, 2025, the proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery was revealed, a move that would consolidate control over more than a quarter of the $223 billion U.S. media market. As detailed in an analysis published by The Conversation, the combined entity would wield nearly half of the cable television market—including juggernauts HBO and CNN—while doubling Paramount’s share of the video streaming market through the unification of HBO Max, Paramount+, and Discovery. By merging two major Hollywood studios, the new conglomerate would also command nearly a third of the film production market.
David Ellison, CEO of Paramount and son of Oracle’s Larry Ellison, leads the charge, with his father’s deep pockets and tech infrastructure expertise providing a crucial backbone for the deal. Oracle, as the world’s fifth-largest cloud provider, is positioned to become the critical infrastructure for streaming platforms, ferrying digital content from creators to viewers. With streaming now the dominant mode of media consumption, the Ellison family’s growing influence over both content and distribution is raising eyebrows throughout the industry.
Beyond business implications, the merger and TikTok deal are deeply entwined with politics. The Trump administration has not shied away from using antitrust law and federal communications regulation to exert pressure on media companies. The Conversation’s reporting highlights that, ahead of the government’s merger review, Paramount-owned CBS paid $16.5 million to settle a Trump lawsuit over alleged “deceptive” editing of an interview with Kamala Harris—a standard editorial practice. Shortly after, the FCC approved the merger with strict conditions: Paramount was required to hire an ombudsman to oversee CBS’s reporting and eliminate all U.S.-based diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. David Ellison accepted these terms, appointing Kenneth Weinstein, former CEO of the conservative Hudson Institute and Trump’s ambassador to Japan, as ombudsman, and reportedly courting conservative commentator Bari Weiss to guide CBS’s editorial direction.
Critics argue that this wave of consolidation threatens media diversity and independence. The Conversation’s analysis warns that the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger could give the Trump administration unprecedented influence over U.S. media, consolidating major news outlets and streaming platforms under owners with strong ties to the administration. If the merger goes through, Fox Corporation, Sinclair Broadcasting, and the new Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery would together control one-third of all U.S. media—a dynamic that could further cement the partisan media model driving political polarization, especially as public and local news media lose funding following the Trump administration’s $1.1 billion in cuts to public broadcasting.
Meanwhile, the TikTok deal has ignited its own firestorm. Trump’s disclosure on Fox News that the Murdochs, Ellison, and Dell are involved in the consortium has fueled speculation about the platform’s future direction. As reported by Al Jazeera and BBC News, Fox’s participation could infuse TikTok with conservative-leaning content moderation, potentially reshaping algorithmic biases and amplifying Fox News’s reach among younger demographics. While some see this as a necessary step to ensure data sovereignty and national security, others fear it could exacerbate echo chambers and diminish the diversity of voices online.
The regulatory hurdles remain formidable. Any transaction involving foreign assets, such as TikTok’s U.S. operations, must be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and Trump’s direct involvement adds another layer of scrutiny. Public sentiment, as reflected in posts on X (formerly Twitter), is divided. Supporters welcome the prospect of American control over TikTok, while critics decry the growing concentration of media ownership and the potential for censorship or ideological manipulation.
For the major players, the potential rewards are immense. The deal could position Fox as a key force in social media, offering a second shot at digital dominance after its ill-fated MySpace venture. For Oracle and the Ellison family, it represents a chance to cement their role as the infrastructure backbone of the digital media future. For Trump and his allies, it is an opportunity to shape the information ecosystem in ways that could favor their political interests—drawing comparisons to Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who spent a decade consolidating media control, though Trump’s efforts appear to be moving at a much faster pace.
The coming weeks will be decisive. ByteDance faces mounting pressure to accept the deal or risk a nationwide ban on TikTok, a threat Trump has reiterated. As negotiations continue, the outcome will likely set a precedent for how global apps are localized and who gets to control the pipelines of information in an increasingly digital world.
With so much at stake, the American public—and the world—are watching closely. The shape of the nation’s media future may soon be determined not just by market forces, but by the ambitions and alliances of a handful of powerful families and their political patrons.
