The familiar tick-tick-tick of the famous stopwatch that has been part of “60 Minutes” for decades may give way to a new sound: a loud alarm. Paramount Global’s decision overnight to pay $16 million to President Donald Trump to end what has been viewed in many legal circles as a flimsy lawsuit tied to a

The news that Paramount Global will settle Donald Trump’s 60 Minutes lawsuit for $16 million certainly did not come as a shock to staffers at CBS News. For months, there has been a great deal of consternation and even resignation at the prospect of a settlement and the impact that it would have on the news division.

The question was less about whether Paramount would settle with Trump, and more about how much his lawyers would accept.