CNN staffers are freaking out after learning that their left-leaning network’s owner Warner Bros. Discovery will be acquired by Paramount Skydance — even as insiders confirmed that the new owners plan to take a more politically centrist approach to news, The Post has learned.
Top talent and low-level producers alike are apoplectic that CNN is being acquired by Paramount Skydance, the media giant that scooped up CBS last year – and which subsequently tapped 41-year-old newshound Bari Weiss to root out liberal bias at the network.
Now, CNN staffers are so panicked that the network’s president Mark Thompson was forced to send out a memo late Thursday to tamp down anxiety. The merger still requires a greenlight from Trump’s Department of Justice, among other regulatory approvals.
“Despite all the speculation you’ve read during this process, I’d suggest that you don’t jump to conclusions about the future until we know more,” Thompson wrote late Thursday after it became clear that PSKY emerged victorious over Netflix.
“And secondly let’s not forget our duty to our audience. We’re still near the start of what is already an incredibly newsy year at home and abroad, one that will culminate with critical U.S. midterm elections and who knows what else,” Thompson added.
On one hand, viewers can expect a more Trump-friendly CNN now that it will be owned by the media conglomerate known as PSKY, run by indie producer David Ellison in a deal financed by his dad, the long-time Trump supporting Oracle co-founder, Larry Ellison, people close to the company say.
But that doesn’t mean that CNN will be automatically transformed into a MAGA sounding board; in fact people close to the Ellisons’ burgeoning media empire say they expect a centrist CNN to emerge from their $80.5 billion purchase.
As one person inside Paramount Skydance told me: “Yes, I know people are scared but we’re looking to produce a news product that appeals to 70% of the country that is either center left or center right. Why be scared of that?”
That sentiment hasn’t filtered down to the network’s anchors, producers and correspondents who crank out the 24-7 cable news product. They believe President Trump will be on the phone daily orchestrating coverage with the Ellisons and Weiss, The Post has learned.
A bigger problem for Thompson and his troops – from anchors like Kaitlan Collins, Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper, right down the line to the rank and file — is the likelihood of cost cutting. Even here, the fears of imminent Armageddon might be overblown, insiders say.
CNN is known for its low ratings compared to Fox and even MS Now, but it still makes money. This year’s adjusted operated profit is projected at $600 million on revenue of $1.8 billion.
More good news: PSKY is looking to merge it with its CBS news division (the thing that Weiss runs) meaning there is a need for warm bodies to keep the product going.
The bad news is the debt that PSKY has incurred with the merger, including $15 billion attached to the cable properties, also means the new owners need to cut costs. Meanwhile, if you have Weiss, why do you need Thompson? Top producers could get axed because better ones might be found at CBS; the same goes for some of CNN’s anchors.
How many cuts are needed and who will even be leading the combined CNN-CBS is anyone’s guess. Weiss will play a key role, but she will need backup. All these questions have yet to be answered because PSKY is just now looking at the books, I am told.
Management was somewhat blindsided by Netflix’s quick fold on Thursday night to start thinking of how the new news division will look, sources close to the companies say.
In the meantime there is nothing more that the CNN peeps can do other than keep calm and carry on.
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