Bari Weiss fate up in the air as Paramount prepares to close Warner Bros merger: sources

Bari Weiss’ fate is up in the air as CBS News parent Paramount Skydance prepares to finalize its merger with Warner Bros.Discovery next week, The Post has learned.Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison — who revealed on Friday that the name of the combined media giant will be Skydance — is mulling possible changes to Weiss’ role as CBS News editor-in-chief once the deal is completed, according to sources close to the situation.

Those could include tightening Weiss’ focus on editorial matters versus the corporate managerial responsibilities she was given last year — including the hiring and firing of top talent, according to sources close to the situation.At the same time, insiders said Weiss could make editorial contributions to CNN, which Paramount is acquiring as part of the merger, the sources said.That’s even as CNN CEO Mark Thompson is reportedly in talks with Ellison to extend his stint for another year.Sources said nothing about Weiss’ fate appears definitive and a final decision isn’t expected until the dust settles with the merger, which cleared major hurdles including a lawsuit from a group of state attorneys general last month.

Ellison has been moving quickly to put his team together.On Wednesday, he named former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO, and he is expected to name HBO boss Casey Bloys as the company’s streaming chief, overseeing HBO Max and Paramount+.One insider speculated that Weiss could end up reporting to George Cheeks, currently the chair of TV media at Paramount.

That would upset the current arrangement in which Weiss directly reports to Ellison, while her counterpart at the network, CBS News President Tom Cibrowksi, reports to Cheeks.Another source said that arrangement is highly unlikely.To date, the asymmetrical set-up has given Weiss the upper hand on major decisions, but it’s also created a power struggle between Weiss and Cibrowski, as The Post previously reported.

The situation is delicate for Ellison — who ...