Mark Thompson to remain CNN chairman as Ellisons take control of Warner Bros. Discovery

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Mark Thompson, who has led CNN for the past three years, will remain at the helm as the Ellison family acquires the news network’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

With the merger of Paramount and Warner set to take effect Tuesday, the combined company, named Skydance , is announcing its leadership team on Monday morning. Thompson is staying in place as chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN, reporting to Skydance CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.

The announcement resolves months of uncertainty relating to the politically charged media mega-merger. It also signals that there won’t be any immediate combination of CNN with Paramount’s CBS News unit.

In a memo to CNN staffers on Monday, Thompson wrote, “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.”

“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.”

Thompson, who ran the BBC and The New York Times Co. before joining CNN in 2023, had told staffers that he wanted to remain in place “if the circumstances are right.”

Thompson held several meetings with Paramount executives last week, sources familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that David Ellison had asked Thompson to stay on, auguring stability for CNN at a volatile time for the news media.

When Paramount won the bidding war for Warner last February, CNN employees expressed serious concerns about whether the Ellisons would uphold editorial independence at one of the biggest news organizations in the world.

Paramount patriarch Larry Ellison, one of the richest men in the world, has been a close ally of President Donald Trump, who said last December that “it’s imperative that CNN be sold.”

Trump signaled that he viewed the change in ownership as a way for him to exert control over news coverage, and so have his allies. “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last March.

Trump, Hegseth and other officials attended an off-the-record dinner with David Ellison and other Paramount leaders in April. Officials in Trump’s Justice Department green-lit the merger in June despite misgivings from career staffers, according to the Journal.

David Ellison’s changes at CBS News also caused consternation. Shortly after acquiring Paramount in August 2025, he acquired The Free Press website and installed co-founder Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief.

Weiss-led shakeups in the network news division prompted months of bad press, allegations of managerial ineptitude, and rumblings that Ellison had miscast her in the role. Several ousted correspondents accused Weiss of unduly interfering with their work, though Weiss denied that.

While key CBS newscasts have continued to struggle in the ratings, Weiss and her deputies have notched numerous reporting wins and launched new ventures, including podcasts and live events. And despite Paramount’s attempts to put on a Trump-friendly face, CBS News has kept breaking hard-hitting stories, including about the Trump administration.

During the Warner merger tug-of-war, David Ellison praised CNN and said that “editorial independence will absolutely be maintained.”

Still, many merger opponents warned that the Ellison family couldn’t be trusted with a news asset like CNN. Some of the Democratic state attorneys general who filed an antitrust suit in July to block the deal were openly critical of Weiss and her actions at CBS.

Monday’s announcement indicates that Weiss will not be given oversight of CNN for the foreseeable future. It does not answer any specific questions about a tie-up of CNN and CBS News down the road, however.

“The specifics of how CNN will plug into and operate in the new company have yet to be finalized — hardly surprising given that serious discussions could only begin after Paramount’s anti-trust settlement a few days ago,” Thompson wrote in his memo.

David Ellison and his inner circle have been hustling to firm up Skydance’s leadership team and launch the new company ever since September 21, when the attorneys general agreed to settle their antitrust lawsuit.

The agreement called for creating a five-member “editorial independence board” overseeing CBS News and CNN. The board is meant to uphold editorial standards and resolve disputes, according to the settlement terms. Skydance has six months to appoint the board members.

Once the merger takes effect on Tuesday, Skydance will face severe pressure to cut costs, since the combined company has been saddled with an enormous amount of debt.

At the same time, Skydance will rely on the cash flow from profitable channels like CNN to support its restructuring, giving it good reason to avoid disrupting the network while growing its digital businesses.

Thompson wrote in his memo, “I know many of you have had trepidations about this moment. That’s understandable — indeed, as I’ve hinted before, I’ve had the odd moment or two myself! But I want to say that on the eve of the acquisition of CNN by Paramount Skydance, I find myself in a very positive frame of mind. I really do believe we’ll be working alongside a team who don’t just have real vision and real energy, but real values as well.”

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过去三年一直领导 CNN 的马克·汤普森将继续掌舵，而埃里森家族将收购该新闻网络的母公司华纳兄弟探索频道。

随着派拉蒙和华纳的合并将于周二生效，合并后的公司名为Skydance，将于周一上午公布其领导团队。汤普森将继续担任CNN董事长兼总编辑，向Skydance首席执行官大卫·埃里森和联合首席执行官伊农·克雷兹汇报工作。

这一声明结束了数月来围绕这桩政治敏感的媒体巨头合并案的种种不确定性。它也表明，CNN与派拉蒙旗下的CBS新闻部门不会立即合并。

汤普森周一在给CNN员工的备忘录中写道：“首先，我确信从大卫·埃里森到普通员工，派拉蒙天空之舞的领导层确实相信，将新闻与娱乐并列为我们新公司的首要战略机遇。他们已经了解了我们的数字化战略，并且和我们一样对此感到兴奋。”

“其次，在与他们就此话题进行了深入交流之后，我完全相信他们理解并会全力支持CNN一直以来所秉持的独立新闻原则和实践，”汤普森写道。“正因如此，我将带领CNN迈入新的篇章，使其成为天空之舞旗下众多主要媒体资产和全球品牌之一，并以独立总编辑的身份领导它，拥有与现在相同的职责和特权。”

汤普森在 2023 年加入 CNN 之前曾执掌 BBC 和《纽约时报》公司，他曾告诉员工，如果“情况合适”，他希望继续留任。

据知情人士匿名透露，汤普森上周与派拉蒙高管举行了多次会晤。《华尔街日报》率先报道了戴维·埃里森已邀请汤普森留任的消息，这预示着在新闻媒体行业动荡时期，CNN将迎来稳定。

去年二月，派拉蒙赢得对华纳的竞购战时，CNN员工对埃里森家族能否在世界最大的新闻机构之一维护编辑独立性表示严重担忧。

派拉蒙影业的掌门人拉里·埃里森是世界上最富有的人之一，他一直是唐纳德·特朗普总统的亲密盟友。特朗普去年12月曾表示，“出售CNN势在必行”。

特朗普暗示，他认为此次所有权变更能让他更好地控制新闻报道，他的盟友们也持相同观点。国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯去年三月曾表示：“戴维·埃里森越早接管这家电视台越好。”

据《华尔街日报》报道，今年4月，特朗普、赫格塞斯和其他官员与大卫·埃里森及派拉蒙影业其他高管共进晚餐，但此次晚餐并未公开。尽管一些资深工作人员心存疑虑，特朗普的司法部官员还是在6月批准了这笔合并案。

大卫·埃里森对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻部的改革也引起了不安。2025年8月收购派拉蒙影业后不久，他又收购了《自由新闻报》网站，并任命联合创始人巴里·韦斯为哥伦比亚广播公司新闻部总编辑。

魏斯主导的新闻部门人事变动引发了长达数月的负面新闻，指责其管理无能，并有传言称埃里森不该让她担任这一职务。几位被解雇的记者指责魏斯过度干预他们的工作，但魏斯否认了这一指控。

尽管哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）的主要新闻节目收视率持续低迷，但韦斯和她的副手们在报道方面取得了诸多成就，并推出了包括播客和现场活动在内的新项目。而且，尽管派拉蒙试图营造一种亲特朗普的形象，CBS新闻仍然不断发布重磅新闻，包括有关特朗普政府的报道。

在华纳合并的拉锯战期间，大卫·埃里森称赞了 CNN，并表示“编辑独立性将得到绝对维护”。

尽管如此，许多反对合并的人士警告说，埃里森家族无法胜任CNN这样的新闻资产。一些民主党籍州检察长在7月份提起反垄断诉讼，试图阻止这笔交易，他们公开批评了韦斯及其在CBS的所作所为。

周一的声明表明，韦斯在可预见的未来将不会继续掌管CNN。然而，声明并未回答有关CNN和CBS新闻未来是否会合并的任何具体问题。

汤普森在备忘录中写道：“CNN将如何融入新公司并在新公司中运营的具体细节尚未最终确定——考虑到只有在派拉蒙几天前达成反垄断和解协议后才能开始认真讨论，这也就不足为奇了。”

自 9 月 21 日各州总检察长同意就反垄断诉讼达成和解以来，大卫·埃里森和他的核心圈子一直在努力巩固 Skydance 的领导团队并推出这家新公司。

根据协议，将设立一个由五名成员组成的“编辑独立委员会”，负责监督哥伦比亚广播公司新闻部（CBS News）和美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）。该委员会旨在维护编辑标准并解决争议。天空之舞传媒（Skydance）有六个月的时间来任命委员会成员。

合并于周二生效后，Skydance 将面临巨大的成本削减压力，因为合并后的公司背负着巨额债务。

与此同时，Skydance 将依靠 CNN 等盈利频道的现金流来支持其重组，这使其有充分的理由在发展数字业务的同时避免扰乱该网络。

汤普森在备忘录中写道：“我知道你们很多人对此刻都感到忐忑不安。这可以理解——事实上，正如我之前暗示过的，我自己也曾有过一两次这样的时刻！但我想说的是，在派拉蒙天空之舞收购CNN的前夕，我的心态非常积极。我坚信，我们将与一支不仅拥有远见卓识和充沛精力，而且拥有真正价值观的团队并肩作战。”