Press Freedom Concerns Arise as Paramount-Warner Merger Combines CNN and CBS News

A journalist records video near a CNN sign on an athletic field outside the Clements Recreation Center. Paramount Skydance has completed its takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, bringing CNN and CBS News under the same corporate ownership, in a deal that has raised concerns about editorial independence and freedom of speech.

The acquisition, worth about $110bn including debt, combines two of Hollywood’s biggest studios after months of legal challenges lodged by state attorneys general and unions. The new company, Skydance Corporation, brings together HBO, CBS, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Comedy Central, DC Studios and Food Network, alongside streaming services Paramount plus and HBO Max. But its control of two major US news organisations has drawn particular scrutiny.

David Ellison, Skydance’s chairman and chief executive, has promised to preserve their editorial independence, but his father, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is a major financial backer of the deal, and has previously donated funds to US President Donald Trump and Israel. Asked about the takeover on Tuesday, Trump welcomed it. “They’re terrific people, and it’s going to be a great company,” he said.

The takeover faced initial opposition from Hollywood workers, politicians and state prosecutors concerned about the mounting concentration of power in an industry already dominated by a handful of companies. Netflix initially reached an agreement to buy part of Warner Bros Discovery, before a bidding war ensued.

A California-led coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block the deal, citing reduced competition and higher prices, while the Writers Guild of America brought a separate challenge. Both cases were settled in September when Paramount agreed to commitments relating to film production, support for displaced workers and protections for the news networks, including a new editorial independence board.

Despite the settlement, critics remain skeptical. Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo stated that the merger will stifle creativity and weaken free speech. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren also warned against the takeover, linking it to broader political efforts to restrict media access.

Under the settlement, Skydance must establish a “News Editorial Independence Board” within 180 days, consisting of five experienced journalists. However, critics like Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation have dismissed the board as ineffective since its members are appointed by the company's board of directors.

Skydance announced that Mark Thompson will remain CNN’s chairman and editor-in-chief, and Bari Weiss will continue as CBS News’s editor-in-chief. Nonetheless, advocacy groups continue to warn that the merger and subsequent executive decisions pose an existential threat to the free press and independent media.