Mark Thompson isn’t going anywhere.
David Ellison is keeping CNN’s top executive in place as Paramount buys Warner Bros. Discovery, the news giant’s parent company. The merger will put CNN and CBS News under one corporate roof.
Thompson, who’s led CNN since October 2023, told staffers on Monday that he’s staying at the network. His title will be chairman and editor-in-chief.
“I’m convinced that from David Ellison on down, Paramount Skydance leadership really does believe in news alongside entertainment as a top strategic opportunity for our new company,” Thompson said in a memo obtained by Business Insider.
Thompson told employees he has “real confidence” that Ellison will “understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for.”
The future of CNN — and particularly its editorial independence — was a hot political topic ahead of the $110 billion mega-merger of Paramount and WBD. Critics were concerned Ellison and his father, Larry — the Oracle billionaire and longtime Trump ally — could bend the operation to be more favorable to the president. Ellison has broadly denied any interest in interfering politically in newsrooms under his control.
As part of the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 states, Paramount will create an independent editorial board to monitor editorial principles at both CNN and CBS News. It will report to the combined entity’s corporate board through its chief compliance officer.
Thompson said in his memo that leadership at Ellison’s new-look media giant had “seen our digital strategy and are as excited about it as we are.”
CNN’s top boss previously told staffers not to assume that the network would combine with CBS News after Paramount completed the WBD deal.
“Don’t jump to conclusions that we become one with CBS News,” CNN CEO Mark Thompson had told staffers at a September town hall, a person familiar with the meeting said.
Ellison shook up CBS News by hiring Bari Weiss as the network’s top editor last October. Weiss, a former New York Times opinion editor, cofounded the conservative-friendly site The Free Press, which Ellison bought for about $150 million.
Weiss, who hadn’t previously worked in TV news, has critiqued the mainstream media. She has faced accusations of editorial interference and political bias from former CBS News employees, which she has denied.
Paramount CEO David Ellison hasn’t said much about how CNN and CBS News will operate under common ownership. The media mogul has expressed interest in building a “scaled news service,” though he hasn’t publicly given specifics.
Besides CNN and CBS News, the combined company will house assets including two major movie studios, HBO, HBO Max, Paramount+, Pluto TV, and a slew of cable TV channels. Paramount said it expects the deal to close on Tuesday.
Read Thompson’s full memo to CNN employees below:
Dear All,As you know, Paramount Skydance will close its deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery tomorrow, and CNN will have new owners. Later today, the company is announcing the anticipated leadership lineup of the company which is now called Skydance. You’ll see my name on the list as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of CNN. I’m writing to you now to explain what that means.The specifics of how CNN will plug into and operate in the new company have yet to be finalized — hardly surprising given that serious discussions could only begin after Paramount’s anti-trust settlement a few days ago. So I can’t answer every question today. Nonetheless there are a few important things I can say:First, I’m convinced that from David Ellison on down, Paramount Skydance leadership really does believe in news alongside entertainment as a top strategic opportunity for our new company. They’ve seen our digital strategy and are as excited about it as we are.And second, having now spoken to them at length on the topic, I have real confidence that they both understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for. That’s why I will be leading CNN into this new chapter as it becomes one of Skydance’s suite of major media assets and global brands, and leading it as an independent Editor-in-Chief with the same responsibilities and prerogatives that I have now.I know many of you have had trepidations about this moment. That’s understandable — indeed, as I’ve hinted before, I’ve had the odd moment or two myself! But I want to say that on the eve of the acquisition of CNN by Paramount Skydance, I find myself in a very positive frame of mind. I really do believe we’ll be working alongside a team who don’t just have real vision and real energy, but real values as well.We’ll make sure that everyone gets details of how to watch the actual launch of the company tomorrow.More to come, and all the best,Mark
