All posts tagged "David Ellison"

Paramount CEO David Ellison’s effort to keep CNN chief Mark Thompson aboard signals doubts about Bari Weiss’s ability to oversee the network after turmoil at CBS News, Status founder Oliver Darcy argued.

“I think that’s a real indictment of her. I really do,” Darcy said Friday on Status’s "Powerlines" podcast as he dug into Ellison’s apparent assessment that Weiss isn’t ready for the high-profile role.

“I don’t think this is a good sign for Barry Weiss,” he added....

Paramount boss David Ellison has reportedly cooled on CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss after her '60 Minutes' debacle, throwing her CNN takeover into doubt.

Status founder Oliver Darcy made the claim on Saturday's episode of the "Power Lines" podcast, as CNN staffers brace for Ellison's Paramount Skydance to take control of their network within weeks.

Paramount cleared its last major obstacle this week when a dozen states led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta settled their lawsuit blocking its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal required no structural changes, and CNN was not spun off....

CBS News insiders are sounding the alarm over Bari Weiss' revamped '60 Minutes,' with one senior staffer declaring the show already "dead."

The grim verdict came from an unnamed CBS News senior staffer who spoke with media columnist Justin Baragona in a Wednesday article for his Zeteo newsletter "Ragebait."

"The show is dead. We're just looking at some Frankenstein of bits sewn together of mismatched pieces," the staffer told Baragona. "I think the season is in trouble."...

Paramount Skydance scrambled to respond after Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo attacked the studio's CEO and his father.

According to a Friday article by Variety, Ruffalo posted a video on his Instagram showing the executive vice chair of the tech company Oracle, Safra Catz, talking about how the company supported Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Oracle was co-founded and is chaired by Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Catz, who is Israeli, is shown in the video speaking on a panel a few years ago, according to Variety. Catz is also on Paramount's board of directors, per the company's website....

A slip by conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat revealed that promises to "60 Minutes" from CBS don't mean anything, an expert said.

In a Friday episode of the Power Lines podcast, media expert Jon Passantino called out how Douthat answered questions during his exit interview. Douthat was announced as the newest "60 Minutes" correspondent last month, and fellow New York Times columnist Ezra Klein interviewed Douthat for his podcast.

Klein asked Douthat, "What did they say they wanted? Like, what is your sense of what '60 Minutes' is trying to become with you launching as a marquee name?"...

CNN insiders shredded an op-ed by a MAGA billionaire who's trying to take over their parent company, according to a media reporter.

During an episode of the Status podcast Power Lines, Oliver Darcy, who reports on media, said that CNN staffers and journalists panned a New York Times op-ed by Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison, who is trying to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison controls CBS, which has seen a MAGA makeover of its news programs under Bari Weiss and cut the Trump-critical The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The Paramount chief's guest essay marked his first public defense of the deal, which a dozen states sued to block. A judge halted it until a trial set for March, but if it's greenlit, Ellison would take control of CNN. Darcy said that he spoke with more than a dozen people inside CNN about whether the essay swayed them, and they responded with a "resounding no."...