Two of the five biggest studios in America want to become one. If Paramount is allowed to absorb Warner Bros. Discovery, a single company will control roughly a third of the movies that reach theaters and roughly a third of basic cable programming, along with two of the largest streaming services and two national news organizations, CBS News and CNN, under the same roof. That outcome moved closer on Monday, as reports emerged that Paramount had reached a settlement deal with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who leads the 12 states suing to block the deal. The Ellisons, the family that controls Paramount, had been pressing for a settlement without serious structural reforms — one that would allow the merger to progress based mostly on empty, unenforceable promises. Before that happens, someone should account for who has been paying for all of it. Latinos are 19% of the U.S. population and bought 29% of all movie tickets sold in 2020. We attend theaters more often than any other group, and Latino households command more than $4 trillion in purchasing power. Black Americans are abo