Paramount CEO vows to maintain CNN's 'editorial independence' after Warner Bros. bidding war win

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison pledged Thursday to maintain CNN’s “editorial independence” after coming out on top in the bidding war for the outlet’s parent company Warner Bros.Discovery.CNBC “Squawk on the Street” host David Faber asked Ellison during an interview whether CNN would end up “more beholden to the Trump administration” under Paramount, which has been accused of nudging CBS News – an acquisition from last year – to the political right.“Editorial independence will absolutely be maintained.

It’s maintained at CBS.It’ll be maintained at CNN,” the exec responded.“And, really, who we want to talk to is the 70% of Americans and really around the world that identify as center-left, as center-right.

And we want to be in the truth business.We want to be in the trust business.

And that’s not going to change,” he added.Paramount Skydance last week emerged victorious with a $111 billion offer to take over Warner Bros.and its assets, including CNN, HBO and thousands of film titles, following a brutal monthslong bidding war with Netflix.

The purchase still needs regulatory approval.CNN staffers are reportedly worried that the deal could threaten their newsroom’s independence, after Ellison installed Bari Weiss at CBS News last year to bring more conservative voices to the network.Anchors, producers and correspondents at the lefty cable network are concerned that President Trump – who is friendly with Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle and David Ellison’s father – will be on the phone daily orchestrating CBS and CNN coverage, The Post reported.“CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team,” Ellison said Thursday in an attempt to assuage such concerns.“And we absolutely believe in, you know, the independence that needs to be maintained obviously for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward.”Weiss, a former New York Times opinion journalist, sold her site The ...