Entertainment
CNN Officially Taken Over By Trump Allies
CNN is headed into the hands of a family with close ties to President Donald Trump, putting one of his most frequent media targets under new ownership.
The Ellison family’s takeover of CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery is set to take effect Tuesday through its merger with Paramount. Billionaire Larry Ellison, a close Trump ally, has backed the media expansion led by his son, David Ellison.
The incoming owners are keeping CNN’s top executive in place. A leadership lineup announced Monday names Mark Thompson as chairman and editor-in-chief, reporting to Skydance CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
Trump has openly pushed for CNN to change hands. In December, the president said “it’s imperative that CNN be sold.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also welcomed the prospect of an Ellison takeover.
“The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” Hegseth said in March.
The deal brings CNN and Paramount’s CBS News under the same corporate roof, though Monday’s announcement signals no immediate combination of the two news operations.
David Ellison has already shaken up leadership at CBS News. After acquiring Paramount in August 2025, he bought The Free Press and installed its co-founder, Bari Weiss, as CBS News editor-in-chief.
At CNN, Thompson will remain at the helm after three years running the network. The former BBC and New York Times Co. chief had told employees he wanted to stay “if the circumstances are right.”
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He met with Paramount executives several times last week, according to sources familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Wall Street Journal first reported that David Ellison had asked him to stay.
“Let’s get right to CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter, who can answer the question of, who I work for tomorrow”
–@JohnBerman always with the probing questions! https://t.co/FVhOc5R8gc
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 5, 2026
In a Monday memo, Thompson told CNN employees the incoming owners supported his digital strategy and viewed news as a business worth building.
“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.”
Thompson also said he had secured assurances about his editorial authority.
“And second, having now spoken to them at length of 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,” Thompson wrote. “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.”
Some CNN employees had raised concerns about editorial independence after Paramount won the bidding war for Warner in February. Thompson’s decision to stay followed his discussions with the new leadership.
Trump, Hegseth and other administration officials attended an off-the-record dinner with David Ellison and other Paramount leaders in April.
The Justice Department approved the merger in June. The Journal reported that career staffers had expressed misgivings about the deal.
