Paramount-Warner Bros. deal stirs fears about what it means for CNN

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As the media industry took stock of Paramount Skydance’s startling acquisition of Warner Bros.Discovery, one question lingered on the minds of many in the news business and beyond: What will this mean for CNN? The iconic 24-hour cable news network is among the various Warner Bros.

assets that would be scooped up by Paramount in a deal announced Thursday that could transform the media landscape.Paramount has undergone a swift transformation under Chief Executive David Ellison following his family’s acquisition of the company last summer.These changes reached CBS News almost immediately with the appointment of Bari Weiss, the controversial Free Press co-founder, as its new editor in chief.

Hollywood Inc.Paramount chief David Ellison, who has pursued Warner Bros.

since the fall, said he was pleased Warner’s board ‘unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer.’Weiss’ tenure so far has been rocky.Her decision to pull a “60 Minutes” story about conditions inside an El Salvador prison that housed undocumented Venezuelan migrants from the U.S.received widespread criticism and accusations of political motivation.

The network said the story was held for more reporting, and the segment eventually aired.There was more upheaval last week at the news magazine, when “60 Minutes” correspondent and CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper announced that he’d be leaving to spend more time with his family.And earlier this year, a veteran producer at “CBS Evening News With Tony Dokoupil” was fired after he expressed disagreement about the editorial direction of the newscast.Hollywood Inc.

The CNN anchor is leaving his ’60 Minutes’ role to devote more time to his young children and focus on his other job.Now, the concern is that similar changes could be in store for CNN, which has long been a target of President Trump’s ire.He has personally called for the ouster...