CNN staffers panic over Paramount merger as layoffs loom in months ahead: Bloodbath coming

Staffers at CNN are in a panic over Paramount’s impending takeover of the cable news channel’s parent company Warner Bros.Discovery — and the massive bloodbath that is expected to come after CEO David Ellison completes the $81 billion deal in the coming weeks.Paramount settled an antitrust suit with California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday — clearing the way for a merged media giant that will operate both CBS News and CNN, in addition to Hollywood studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+.“People are very nervous,” one CNN staffer told The Post.

“It’s dark.It’s like when you do hurricane coverage.

You see the storm spinning off the coast of Haiti and moving towards Florida and you’re just waiting and you’re like, ‘Oh, s–t’.”“Bloodbath coming, including at CNN,” a TV exec said.“That’s the next big step — slashing and burning.”Paramount has said it sees at least $6 billion in cost savings, which would translate to several thousand jobs lost in the months ahead.Inside CNN, staffers have been more or less kept in the dark by top brass, who are themselves unsure who will be running the network once Ellison takes over.“There’s been a complete absence of information about what’s going on and who is going to be in charge,” a CNN staffer told The Post.CNN boss Mark Thompson is set to lead a staff town hall about the merger on Wednesday.

But there’s little hope of gleaning much insight on the new leadership structure until Ellison officially closes the deal.Employees are looking at how CBS News has changed under Ellison’s stewardship, pointing to the overhaul of the network under news boss Bari Weiss.“What’s been playing out at CBS News is fueling a deeper sense of dread and anxiety … not only how they’ve treated people and the editorial changes they’ve made, but that it’s also been a disaster.The ratings are at their lowest point,” said a CNN insider.�...