CNN Chief Urges Staff to Keep Calm Over Paramount’s Purchase of Parent Firm

Word had barely spread about Paramount’s apparent victory in the competition to buy Warner Bros. Discovery before CNN chief Mark Thompson wrote to staff members.

Anxious observers are left to interpret signals from Paramount’s management of CBS News for what it could mean for CNN. (Photo: ucumari photography Flickr)

His message, in effect: Keep calm and carry on, David Bauder reported for the Associated Press (AP).

It’s a tall order. The network’s future — including whether familiar faces stay or go, and whether the outlet changes its editorial direction — will be watched closely if the corporate deal clears regulatory hurdles and proceeds.

Anxious observers are left to interpret signals from Paramount’s management of CBS News for what it could mean for CNN.

“Despite all the speculation you’ve read during this process, I’d suggest that you don’t jump to conclusions until we know more,” Thompson wrote in his internal memo, urging employees to focus on delivering journalism to their audiences.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in a company town hall on Friday that he recognized Paramount’s win over Netflix “feels a little whiplashy,” according to CNN’s Brian Stelter. Zaslav predicted the deal would take six months to close.

Paramount leader David Ellison has not commented on the developments or his plans for the network’s future. But in an already volatile media environment, the trepidation — if not the outcome itself — could prove seismic.