More than 200 journalists and program makers have signed a letter warning of the impact that Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will have on CNN and HBO.
MAGA-friendly media conglomerate Paramount is in the process of acquiring WBD, the parent company of CNN and HBO, in an $81 billion deal that, if approved by shareholders, will ultimately merge HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single streaming service.
Paramount CEO David Ellison is a tech billionaire and Trump ally who has forged close links to the current U.S. administration. He has been spotted next to the president at UFC matches and attended this year’s State of the Union address with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
After Skydance merged with Paramount last year, bringing CBS under Ellison’s control, he installed the MAGA-curious Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Weiss has been called out for interfering in the output of CBS’s flagship news show 60 Minutes, including withdrawing a segment shortly before it was due to air, in order to seek input from the Trump administration.
The warning letter, to be delivered to Paramount this week, documents media industry fears that Ellison’s influence over impartial news reporting will also take hold at HBO and CNN, both of which Trump regularly criticizes.
The letter, organized by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and obtained by Status, is signed by around 200 current and former journalists, including former ABC News anchor Sam Donaldson, former CNN anchor Jim Acosta, and former ABC and CBS News correspondent Judy Muller.
The signatories oppose the merger with WBD, claiming it will “open the door to improper political meddling in journalists’ editorial decisions.”
The letter states, “Ellison will likely alter CNN’s editorial direction (not to mention meddle with HBO’s documentaries) to be more friendly to the administration, threatening press freedom.”
It warned that members of the president’s administration “expect exactly that,” and cited “sweeping changes to appease Trump,” at CBS, including the hiring of “Trump-aligned columnist Bari Weiss.”
It referred to a report in The Wall Street Journal last December, in which David Ellison was said to have visited Washington to reassure Trump administration officials that he would overhaul CNN if he bought WBD.
The Journal said Trump had told people close to him that he wants new ownership of CNN, as well as changes to CNN programming.
After the death of CNN founder Ted Turner this month, as part of his tribute Trump said the network “became woke.”
“Maybe the new buyers, wonderful people, will be able to bring it back to its former credibility and glory,” Trump wrote, seemingly referencing Ellison.
The letter being sent to Paramount this week said, “We urge federal and state regulators, as well as Paramount shareholders and news consumers, to treat this merger not as an arms-length and above board business transaction, but as what it plainly is: a political arrangement to circumvent constitution safeguards, with severe consequences for American democracy.”
Ellison is hoping to close the deal by July, according to Status.
The Daily Beast has contacted Paramount and Freedom of the Press Foundation for comment.
Also signing the letter are former MSNBC host Katie Phang, Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras and Emmy-winning filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir.
Another signee is current CNN contributor Sarah Elizabeth Cupp, better known as S.E. Cupp. She told Status, “journalism is under assault in America—not just by authoritarian forces, but by market forces, too.”
“It’s more important than ever that news organizations be stewarded by people and entities that prioritize facts, truth, and accountability, not dollars, deals, and political power grabs,” Cupp said.
Trump has saved some of his worst vitriol for CNN journalists, often insulting the “irrelevant” network on his social media. He has also repeatedly clashed with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, whom he once called “the worst reporter,” and criticized for never smiling.
“I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face. You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth,” he told Collins in response to a question about the Epstein files.
