Post by Chidinma Onyejiuwa (@Onyejiuwa)

President Trump’s Friend Buys CNN; Journalists, Democrats Panic

Paramount Skydance, controlled by David Ellison, has cleared the last major U.S. obstacle to buying Warner Bros. Discovery. A coalition of 12 states led by California AG Rob Bonta settled its antitrust suit on September 21, 2026. The merger is expected to close by early October. That puts CNN and CBS News under the same corporate owner. Federal antitrust review had already been completed earlier; the state lawsuit was the remaining domestic hurdle. International regulators had also signed off.

As part of the settlement, Paramount must create a five-person board of “established journalists” (active or retired, minimum 10 years’ experience) within six months of closing. The board’s stated purpose is to set principles and handle disputes over alleged bias or interference at both CNN and CBS News. Five of the plaintiff states will help monitor compliance. Whether the board has real teeth will depend on who is appointed and how disputes are actually resolved.

Ellison already owns CBS. He installed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News after the 2025 Paramount-Skydance combination. That appointment produced high-profile staff changes, including at 60 Minutes, and mixed ratings. Some reports have floated the idea of Weiss having a role over a combined news operation; other reports and Paramount sources have said that is not the current plan. Ellison has publicly promised CNN’s editorial independence will be maintained and that he does not intend to “bend” the newsrooms to his personal views. Staff at CNN remain skeptical because of what they have seen at CBS.

Larry Ellison (David’s father) has given large sums to Trump-aligned groups. Both father and son have a documented personal relationship with President Trump. Trump previously said it was “imperative that CNN be sold” and criticized its current leadership. Critics call this cronyism; supporters call it a normal relationship between a president and a major businessman. The settlement does not require divestiture of CNN.

The meme says it all- the democrats and journalists are panicking right now. The transaction is real, the political alignment is real, and newsroom anxiety is real. The scale of any programming or personnel shift is still unknown and will be tested after the deal closes.

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