Paramount denies – Six months after a report alleged Larry Ellison promised President Donald Trump a CNN overhaul tied to Paramount Skydance’s WBD deal, Paramount has formally denied the claim, saying no commitments were made to any government body.
For six months, the allegation hung in the air: that Larry Ellison—through David Ellison reaching out—had promised President Donald Trump a CNN overhaul if Paramount Skydance won the Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
On Tuesday, Paramount moved to kill the story at the source.
The earlier reporting, published by the Wall Street Journal, placed the promise during last winter’s WBD bidding war. It said David Ellison’s billionaire father reached out to Trump and teased changes to CNN under Paramount Skydance. In the account. neither Trump nor the elder Ellison were “fan of the cable news channel. ” with the claim that both believed it was biased toward liberal news and against the administration.
The Tuesday denial lands on top of a chain of related claims that began appearing even before the WSJ report. In December. another report said David Ellison told multiple Trump administration officials he would demand sweeping changes to CNN if he acquired WBD’s assets. The month before that. reporting claimed Ellison also spoke to a White House official about axing CNN hosts Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar if Paramount bought the news network’s parent company. WBD.
Paramount’s spokesperson responded directly to that Tuesday version of events. In a statement to WSJ. the company said: “No commitments from either David or Larry Ellison have been made to any government body. State AG or federal agency regarding the future of CNN or any other news property. other than the goal to deliver truth-based journalism.”.
A White House spokesperson also told the outlet: “President Trump has consistently maintained that he was neutral to all parties throughout the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding process.”
Paramount’s pushback comes as the company navigates scrutiny over how power and editorial control could shift in the wake of a major media merger. The company’s denial arrives two weeks after David Ellison promised editorial independence for CBS News amid Bari Weiss’ “troubling tenure. ” including a shakeup at “60 Minutes.” Paramount Skydance CEO leadership is also reportedly in flux. with the CEO said to be looking for a new business executive to help lead efforts after the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger.
On the CBS side, an individual with knowledge of CBS’s thinking told TheWrap earlier this month that “there is no intention” for Weiss to run the combined news operation.
When you lay the claims and responses side by side. the tension becomes clear: one set of reports links CNN changes to specific bargaining leverage during the WBD process. while Paramount insists no commitments of that kind were ever made to any government body—other than a stated aim of “truth-based journalism.”.
Paramount Skydance Larry Ellison David Ellison Donald Trump CNN overhaul Warner Bros. Discovery WSJ Bari Weiss CBS News 60 Minutes Erin Burnett Brianna Keilar media merger
Sounds like spin. They deny it but it’s probably still true.
CNN overhaul?? I’m confused. If Trump was “neutral” why are we even talking about firing hosts and changing stuff. Like this feels political either way.
So Paramount says “no commitments” which is what companies always say right after something like this drops. But the whole thing started months ago with WSJ, then more reports about Erin Burnett and Keilar. Maybe they didn’t promise Trump, maybe they promised someone else? Also Larry Ellison hates bias? Sure, whatever.
I don’t even know why this is a headline, like CNN is gonna do what it does. If Trump thinks CNN is liberal, of course there would be pressure in the background during the WBD bidding war. “Truth-based journalism” sounds nice but also kinda marketing. I bet there’s some secret convo somewhere even if they legally deny it.