CNN employees reacted with alarm after Netflix abruptly pulled out of the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, effectively clearing the way for a takeover of the 24\/7 cable channel by Paramount Skydance, the media giant run by technology heir David Ellison.<\/p>\n
Seven current CNN employees who spoke to NBC News on Thursday night, hours after Netflix announced it would not try to match Paramount\u2019s bid for WBD, expressed a combination of fear and concern. They described the mood inside the company as \u201cshaken\u201d and\u201d depressing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paramount\u2019s offer, formally signed into an agreement by WBD\u2019s board Friday afternoon<\/a>, still needs to go through Justice Department regulators. Democratic politicians and California\u2019s attorney general <\/a>have said they will also be looking closely at the deal. <\/p>\n But if it is approved, Ellison \u2014 the son of Oracle technology mogul Larry Ellison, a close ally of President Donald Trump \u2014 stands to control two of the key pillars of the traditional news media: CNN and CBS News, home of \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n One CNN journalist who regularly appears on air described Netflix\u2019s pullback as \u201cshocking.\u201d The journalist said they believed some staffers would head for the exits if faced with the prospect of working for David Ellison or CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, whom Ellison hired to \u201cinvigorate\u201d the storied network news division.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one wants to work for the Ellisons,\u201d that person said. \u201cAnd if Bari is going to be running CNN, expect people to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n A CNN spokesperson declined to comment but pointed NBC News to a memo that CNN CEO Mark Thompson sent to the newsroom Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite all the speculation you\u2019ve read during this process, I\u2019d suggest that you don\u2019t jump to conclusions about the future until we know more,\u201d Thompson wrote. \u201cAnd secondly let\u2019s not forget our duty to our audience. We\u2019re 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. Let\u2019s continue to focus on delivering the best possible journalism to the millions of people who rely on us all around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Paramount and CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n CBS News has become the target of particular scrutiny under Weiss\u2019s leadership. She drew criticism for the last-minute spiking of a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d segment around the treatment of Venezuelan deportees, which eventually aired weeks later<\/a>. Public outcry followed some staffing decisions, including the decision to bring on new contributors.<\/p>\n One CNN anchor said that much of the company was hoping Netflix would win the bidding war, while a CNN executive said they were worried about whether Paramount would look to make deep cuts to the newsroom.<\/p>\n The employees asked to withhold their names so they could speak candidly about the company\u2019s inner workings. In December, CNN staffers received a memo instructing them not to speak publicly about anything related to their parent company\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n Paramount\u2019s bid for WBD is for the entire company, including the legendary film studio, HBO, the HBO Max streaming platform and a suite of cable channels that includes CNN. Netflix was looking to acquire only WBD\u2019s studio and streaming units, pending a spinoff of the cable portfolio into a separate entity.<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear whether David Ellison would combine CNN and CBS News into a single news organization or operate them as separate units. But the root cause of concern among staffers centers on the Ellison family\u2019s collective control. Some experts have echoed those worries. <\/p>\n \u201cIt cannot be overstated, the potential impact this is going to have when it comes to the undermining of what\u2019s considered credible news coverage,\u201d J. Christopher Hamilton, an entertainment attorney and professor at Syracuse University, told NBC News on Friday. <\/p>\n \u201cMy students have already checked out in terms of their trust in legacy anything \u2014 whether it\u2019s institutions like governments or media organizations,\u201d he continued. \u201cI don\u2019t know what a world looks like when our institutions that have protected and guided us for centuries become institutions we don\u2019t trust anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Those concerns have only been amplified within the Trump era, where free speech has been a front-and-center debate among political watchdog organizations and the general news media.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president has been extremely closely involved in individual enforcement decisions,\u201d Reilly Steel, associate professor at Columbia Law School, told NBC News. \u201cWe see that with President Trump trying to get the DOJ to go after particular individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n Jim Acosta, a former CNN White House correspondent, emphasized those sentiments in a post to X<\/a>, writing on Thursday, \u201cAs I\u2019ve been warning, America now has state-compromised media.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWhen 60 Min or CNN is in trouble, we\u2019re all in trouble,\u201d Acosta continued. \u201cTrump has cracked the code in how to hurt the press. Free speech is now at risk. MAGA corporations must not control the news. Support independent media.\u201d<\/p>\n