CNNs Mark Thompson to stay on after Ellison takeover, Bari Weiss to remain in current role

CNN’s Mark Thompson announced Monday that he will be staying on as the network’s chairman and editor-in-chief after the $81 billion merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros.Discovery.Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News who was hand-picked by Ellison last year and conducted bloodbath layoffs at “60 Minutes,” will remain in her current role, according to the press release.Thompson will be reporting directly to Ellison, the chairman and chief executive of the combined company named Skydance, and his new co-CEO, Ynon Kreiz, who previously ran Mattel, according to a press release.“Having now spoken to them [Skydance executives] at length on the topic, I have real confidence that they both understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for,” Thompson wrote in a memo to employees.“I know many of you have had trepidations about this moment.

That’s understandable – indeed, as I’ve hinted before, I’ve had the odd moment or two myself!” he added.“But I want to say that on the eve of the acquisition of CNN by Paramount Skydance, I find myself in a very positive frame of mind.”Thompson said in his memo that some of the “specifics of how CNN will plug into and operate in the new company have yet to be finalized” since the merger process is ongoing, but he will have “the same responsibilities and prerogatives that I have now.”His current contract is due to expire in the spring, but he has been in talks with executives to renew his contract, the New York Times reported.Weiss had initially been promised CNN when she took over CBS News, but that Ellison subsequently concluded “her current role is more than she can handle,” a person with knowledge of the situation told The Post. The Post also reported that Weiss remains in the Ellisons’ good graces despite public backlash over her firing of “60 Minutes” legends and her hiring of unconventional correspond...