The billionaire chief of Paramount has given his CBS boss a clear vote of no confidence.
In a blow to Bari Weiss, Trump-friendly David Ellison has asked CNN’s network CEO, Mark Thompson, to remain at the helm after his acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Weiss, the newly installed editor-in-chief of the Ellison-owned CBS News, is expected to have no part in CNN’s operations.
Thompson, for his part, remains in talks with Ellison and is prioritizing editorial independence to stay at the helm of Ted Turner’s network.
A CNN spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The snub towards Weiss comes CBS News’ ratings have plummeted under the former anti-woke blogger, who had no previous broadcast experience.
Last week, Weiss’ revamped 60 Minutes took another ratings hit, drawing 6.77 million total viewers for its second episode of the season, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers—marking a 15-percent dip from the debut.
The numbers point to a continued downtrend for 60 Minutes, which opened its 59th season under new leadership last week. The debut drew about 7.94 million viewers, the most abysmal opening since at least the turn of the century. Viewership in the 25-54 demographic also dropped a third to 1.6 million viewers.
Her newly installed CBS Evening News anchor, Tony Dokopuil, has also seen his audience plummet.
Previously, Ellison was said to be in talks to determine Weiss’s role in shepherding CNN, should he successfully navigate the 12 state attorneys general who were granted a restraining order to block the merger on the grounds that merging Skydance-Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery would “extinguish competition” in the industry. All have since backed down, allowing the $110 billion deal to go through.
Though Ellison promised CNN would remain independent, critics would see installing Weiss as a direct contradiction of that vow. It’s widely speculated that Ellison installed Weiss to appease the Trump administration with her anti-woke views.
The New York Post reported that Weiss was initially promised CNN, until Ellison realized CBS is already too much for her to take on.
“The question is, is this the beginning of the end at CBS, and will Thompson take over us at some point?” a CBS insider said, according to the Post.
Ellison’s father, Oracle billionaire and Trump donor Larry Ellison, reportedly remains a champion of Weiss.
The Free Press founder “seemed subdued” at a 9 am editorial meeting on Thursday.
