Reports that Bari Weiss will take over CNN following Paramount‘s (Nasdaq: PSKY) pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (Nasdaq: WBD) are circulating widely — but the story may be more complicated than the headlines suggest.
Weiss became editor-in-chief of CBS News on October 6, 2025, when Paramount Skydance acquired her publication, The Free Press, for approximately $150 million. She had no prior broadcast television experience. Since taking the role, she has overhauled 60 Minutes, driving out longtime executive producer Bill Owens — who resigned in April, saying he could no longer run the program independently — and firing several star correspondents, including Scott Pelley. She replaced them with Nick Bilton, a technology journalist with no broadcast background.
The changes drew significant internal criticism and have pleased President Trump, who has long attacked CNN’s coverage of him and whose nemeses at CBS have largely departed under Weiss.
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On February 27, 2026, Paramount announced a definitive agreement to acquire WBD at $31 per share — an enterprise value of $110 billion — expected to close in Q3 2026, pending regulatory clearance. CNN, which WBD owns, would fall under Paramount’s control upon closing, placing both it and CBS News under CEO David Ellison.
That prospect has fueled the speculation around Weiss. Paramount has backed her publicly, a spokesperson called her “the editorial leader overseeing CBS News and 60 Minutes” and described reports to the contrary as “inaccurate.” A source told Axios that Ellison considers her work “a fantastic job” and that she has his “full confidence.”
However, The Wrap reported a source with direct knowledge of CBS’s thinking said “there is no intention” for Weiss to lead the combined news operation — and that the role placed her “out of the realm of possibility” even before the 60 Minutes controversy escalated.
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Paramount is actively searching for a separate business executive to partner with Weiss at the merged entity. Candidates under consideration include NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde, former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim, and former ABC News president Ben Sherwood.
Federal regulatory clearance for the merger has not yet come through — meaning Paramount executives cannot legally speak with any WBD personnel, including CNN’s current chief Mark Thompson, before the deal closes.
Thompson told CNN staff after the merger announcement that they should “not jump to conclusions about the future until we know more.”
Related: Paramount Skydance Faces Imminent State Antitrust Challenge Over Warner Bros. Acquisition
The merger still faces obstacles. Democratic attorneys general from California and New York are preparing a lawsuit to block the deal, European regulators continue their own review, and just yesterday, the UK opened a formal investigation. Trump administration regulators are expected to sign off — though, again, that clearance has not yet arrived.
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