CNN Staffers Bracing for Upheaval

David Ellison

The Ellison family—led by billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and his son David, CEO of Skydance Media—is now eyeing Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the parent company of CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. studios. This potential $80 billion all-cash bid, backed by Larry's vast wealth, could create a media behemoth rivaling the likes of Disney or even Rupert Murdoch's empire. 

For CNN staffers, already fatigued by years of ownership churn and layoffs, the prospect evokes dread over ideological shifts, job cuts, and a potential merger with CBS News that could dilute the network's liberal-leaning identity.

CNN employs about 3,000 people but has slashed costs under CEO David Zaslav's belt-tightening. Staffers told Status News they're "bracing" for the bid's fallout, fearing:

Mass Layoffs and Synergies: Merging CNN with CBS News could yield "material cost savings" via overlapping operations, per MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Fishman—code for redundancies in D.C. bureaus, production, and digital teams. 

Ideological Overhaul: Ellison's CBS moves—hiring a conservative ombudsman and pausing DEI—hint at a rightward tilt for CNN, long a Trump target. Dan Rather, the CBS legend, warned on September 15 that an Ellison takeover "would change CNN forever" and "wound" CBS News further, decrying billionaire consolidation of news outlets as "not healthy for the country."

Editorial Power to Bari Weiss: The most visceral fear is Weiss, co-founder of the "anti-woke" digital outlet The Free Press (launched 2021, ~500K subscribers). Paramount Skydance is finalizing a $100M+ acquisition of The Free Press, valuing it above market rates to install Weiss in a senior CBS News role—possibly editor-in-chief or co-president. CBS staffers called it "insult to injury," per The Independent, given Weiss's pro-Israel, conservative commentary. 

If the WBD bid succeeds, CNN insiders worry this could erode the network's reporting ethos.