Contract negotiations with one of CNN's highest-profile reporters broke down once again over fears that the pending Paramount + merger will result in controversial CBS News head Bari Weiss assuming the same duties at the cable news network, a new report shows.
Clarissa Ward, CNN's chief international correspondent, was in active contract negotiations this spring to extend her tenure at the network. CNN leadership, under Mark Thompson, was eager to secure the star journalist with a multiyear deal that would keep her on staff for years to come.
But those talks have reportedly collapsed. Instead of signing a long-term agreement, Ward settled for a one-year extension in April—a dramatic shortening of what CNN had hoped to achieve, media watchdog Status reported.
The impasse centered on a single concern, according to Status: what happens to CNN if Weiss gains editorial control following Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Ward, a former CBS News correspondent who contributed to "60 Minutes," has watched closely as Weiss dismantled the operations at CBS News that has included a purge of key personnel and made national headlines, according to the report.
The changes alarmed Ward enough to make her hesitant about committing her future to a network that could soon fall under Weiss's authority, Status reported.
According to Status founder Oliver Darcy, Ward isn't the first CNN journalist to raise such concerns.
"Last month, Status reported that Paula Reid, who served as CNN's chief legal affairs correspondent, had declined to renew her contract at CNN over concerns about the network's future under Paramount ownership," Darcy wrote. "Several other CNN staffers—ranging in seniority—have also expressed to Status in recent months strong reservations about potentially working for Weiss. Which is to say that Ward is not alone in her angst."
The one-year extension buys Ward time. It allows her to observe how the merger unfolds and whether Weiss actually gains control over CNN's editorial direction before she commits to a longer relationship with the network, the report notes.
CNN declined to comment. Ward also offered no public statement.