David Ellison, the chief executive of Paramount, has reportedly promised White House officials that he would make 'sweeping changes' at CNN as part of his bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ellison made the pledge during a recent trip to Washington aimed at securing President Donald Trump's approval for the $108 billion hostile takeover.
Trump has long been a vocal critic of CNN, frequently labelling the network 'fake news'. The president has told those close to him that he wants new ownership and programming changes at the cable news channel. Ellison's vow to overhaul CNN comes after his father, Larry Ellison, a close Trump ally and the world's second richest man, discussed with the White House the possibility of axing certain CNN hosts, including Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar, according to The Guardian.
In an interview with CNBC, David Ellison outlined his vision for CNN under Paramount ownership, saying he wanted to 'build a scaled news service that is fundamentally in the trust business, in the truth business, and speaks to the 70 percent of Americans that are in the middle'. He added that he would combine CNN with CBS News, which is now run by former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss, and that the new organisation would echo the vision laid out for CBS.
Ellison claimed to have had 'great conversations' with Trump about Paramount's plans, but the president's stance appeared to shift following a recent episode of 60 Minutes featuring Marjorie Taylor Greene. Trump criticised the show and its new ownership, posting on social media that 'they are no better than the old ownership'. He also told reporters that while he knows the companies well, he needs to consider market share and added, 'None of them are particularly great friends of mine. I want to do what's right.'
