Paramount CEO David Ellison is seeking to soothe fears regarding a major news network’s future. According to Deadline, Ellison has echoed that Warner Bros.-owned CNN must remain independent as it will soon live under the same ownership as former rival, CBS News.
“We absolutely believe in the independence that needs to be maintained obviously for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward,” Ellison said via Deadline. He sees CNN as “an incredible brand with an incredible team.” Ellison relayed these thoughts during a CNBC interview today in response to a question about CNN employees questioning the company’s structure as the Paramount-WBD merger becomes a reality.
Ellison recently outbid Netflix for the whole caboose that is Warner Bros. Discovery, including its cable, streaming and film outlets. This, after months of badgering WBD shareholders that Netflix’s offer was unfair and of lesser value. The Ted Sarandos-led company walked away with a $2.8 billion cancellation fee.
“CNN and CBS News are brands that we also really want to be a part of transitioning to streaming so that consumers have the choice. If they want to watch our incredible news brands on broadcast, they can do that. If they want to watch on cable, they can do that. But we also want to create a world to where if they want watch on streaming, they can do that, and where we can really meet consumers where they are,” said Ellison via Deadline.
CNN employees have a right to be cautious, as the public has witnessed the transformation of CBS News under Ellison’s reign. Ellison promised to make their news more balanced by hiring an ombudsman to monitor complaints of bias. Many saw the move as a way to please his close friend, President Donald Trump, who sued and settled lawsuit with 60 Minutes amid the merger’s approval.
mxdwn previously reported Ellison also appointed former The Free Press leader Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief. Since her ascension, several tenured staff members departed the news network, including 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper. There was also the CECOT segment debacle, in which Weiss blocked the airing of a vetted report on the Venezuelan men the Trump administration illegally deported to a prison in El Salvador.
Despite the tensions, Deadline reports CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson told staff not to “jump to conclusions about the future until we know more.”