The News
CNN’s potential new parent company and its network chief have separately both floated the same idea to assuage viewers jittery about future meddling in the iconic cable news network’s journalism.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount leadership had discussed forming an independent editorial board to oversee CNN as it hopes to complete its merger with CNN parent company Warner Brothers Discovery. The report came days after Endeavor chief Ari Emanuel, a major proponent of the merger, pitched the idea on CNBC.
CNN has not weighed in on the idea publicly, as the network awaits the resolution of Democratic-led states’ lawsuits to block the deal. But in recent months, CNN President Mark Thompson has pondered a similar setup.
Last year, during an off-the-record gathering with media executives, two people familiar with the conversations told Semafor that Thompson was questioned about how he would preserve the network’s journalistic independence amid broader speculation that CNN would likely come under new ownership. The gathering included senior figures in media and media-focused nonprofits, many of whom were increasingly concerned about preserving news media amid a period of radical change.
Thompson suggested that the network could establish an independent board, similar to British models like the Guardian’s Scott Trust, which shields the UK media outlet from business-side meddling.
His suggestion, which hasn’t been previously reported, has also quietly been bounced around CNN in recent days. Earlier this month, CNN media reporter Brian Stelter reported that network executives “at the highest levels” had discussed establishing an editorial board when WBD initially announced that it was spinning off its cable assets.
A CNN spokesperson declined to comment.
Max’s view
Having persuaded President Donald Trump that he is a different, more friendly steward of CBS News parent company Paramount, CEO David Ellison is now trying to convince skeptics that he will not bow to political pressure.
Ellison’s sole remaining barrier is the dozen blue-state attorneys general whose antitrust lawsuit has slowed, if not scuttled, a merger that the Paramount chief was at one point hoping to close this summer. Now, Ellison is attempting to force the parties to a settlement through a combination of threats and compromises, including a gesture at insulating CNN from external influence.
It’s unclear whether that will work. Status reported last week that many CNN staffers remain suspicious of Ellison’s motives, and were unmoved by the proposed editorial board. And a significant number of Democrats remain angry at any major company viewed as bowing to political pressure from Trump. Ellison is not the political ideologue that his father is, but convincing Democrats that he is a good steward for CNN will be difficult when the president had repeatedly complimented how Ellison had reshaped CBS News, and insisted that he’ll make more “fantastic changes” at CNN.