CNN boss Mark Thompson is staying on in the David Ellison era. Read his memo to staffers.

Mark Thompson will continue to lead CNN at Skydance, David Ellison's new media company. for Warner Bros. Discovery CNN CEO Mark Thompson will remain in charge as David Ellison's Skydance buys Warner Bros. Discovery. The news giant will share common ownership with CBS News, which Ellison shook up by hiring Bari Weiss. Read Thompson's full memo to CNN employees. Mark Thompson isn't going anywhere. David Ellison is keeping CNN's top executive in place as Paramount buys Warner Bros. Discovery, the news giant's parent company. Thompson, who's led CNN since October 2023, told staffers on Monday that he's staying at the network. His title will be chairman and editor-in-chief. "I'm convinced that from David Ellison on down, Paramount Skydance leadership really does believe in news alongside entertainment as a top strategic opportunity for our new company," Thompson said in a memo obtained by Business Insider. Thompson told employees he has "real confidence" that Ellison will "understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for." Leadership at Ellison's new-look media giant has "seen our digital strategy and are as excited about it as we are," Thompson said. CNN's top boss previously told staffers not to assume that the network would combine with CBS News after Paramount completed its mega-deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. "Don't jump to conclusions that we become one with CBS News," CNN CEO Mark Thompson had told staffers at a September town hall, a person familiar with the meeting said. The blockbuster Paramount-WBD deal will put CNN and CBS News under one roof — along with two major movie studios, HBO, HBO Max, Paramount+, Pluto TV, and a slew of cable TV channels. Paramount's WBD acquisition is expected to close on Tuesday, weeks after it settled the lawsuits slowing down the merger. Ellison shook up CBS News by hiring Bari Weiss as the network's top editor last October. Weiss, a former New York Times opinion editor who hadn't previously worked in TV news, has critiqued the mainstream media and is known for her anti-woke views. She has faced accusations of editorial interference and political bias from former CBS News employees, which she has denied. As part of the settlement, Paramount will create an independent editorial board that will monitor editorial principles at both CNN and CBS News. It will report to the combined entity's corporate board through its chief compliance officer. Otherwise, Paramount CEO David Ellison hasn't said much about how CNN and CBS News will operate under common ownership. The media mogul has expressed interest in building a "scaled news service," though he hasn't publicly given specifics. Read Thompson's full memo to CNN employees below: Dear All, As you know, Paramount Skydance will close its deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery tomorrow, and CNN will have new owners. Later today, the company is announcing the anticipated leadership lineup of the company which is now called Skydance. You'll see my name on the list as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of CNN. I'm writing to you now to explain what that means. The specifics of how CNN will plug into and operate in the new company have yet to be finalized — hardly surprising given that serious discussions could only begin after Paramount's anti-trust settlement a few days ago. So I can't answer every question today. Nonetheless there are a few important things I can say: First, I'm convinced that from David Ellison on down, Paramount Skydance leadership really does believe in news alongside entertainment as a top strategic opportunity for our new company. They've seen our digital strategy and are as excited about it as we are. And second, having now spoken to them at length on the topic, I have real confidence that they both understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for. That's why I will be leading CNN into this new chapter as it becomes one of Skydance's suite of major media assets and global brands, and leading it as an independent Editor-in-Chief with the same responsibilities and prerogatives that I have now. I know many of you have had trepidations about this moment. That's understandable — indeed, as I've hinted before, I've had the odd moment or two myself! But I want to say that on the eve of the acquisition of CNN by Paramount Skydance, I find myself in a very positive frame of mind. I really do believe we'll be working alongside a team who don't just have real vision and real energy, but real values as well. We'll make sure that everyone gets details of how to watch the actual launch of the company tomorrow. More to come, and all the best, Mark Read the original article on Business Insider

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