Paramount chief legal officer Makan Delrahim said Wednesday that he is confident CNN will maintain its editorial independence under the Ellison family after Paramount completes its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, dismissing concerns about the network’s future under its incoming owner.
Asked by TheWrap founder and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman at TheGrill whether there was any cause for concern about CNN’s independence under the Ellisons, Delrahim responded: “I do” when asked whether he had confidence in the network’s future.
Delrahim said he did not believe CNN or CBS News would “foreclose access to information,” as the two news organizations prepare to come under the same corporate parent. Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will bring CNN and CBS News together under David Ellison’s control, along with Warner Bros., HBO, Paramount Pictures and the companies’ streaming and cable assets.
Questions about the editorial independence of CNN and CBS News have become a key issue surrounding the merger. Paramount’s recent settlement with California and 11 other states requires the combined company to establish a five-member News Editorial Independence Board tasked with overseeing journalistic standards at the two news organizations.
Under the settlement, the board will be made up of current or former journalists with at least 10 years of experience and will be charged with resolving certain disputes between journalists and management over editorial principles. It will also monitor the editorial independence of CNN and CBS News from the combined company’s owners and shareholders.
The structure has raised questions about how independent the board can be, particularly because Paramount’s board of directors will select its five members. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said after the settlement that his state had sought the full divestiture of CNN and CBS News but that the coalition was unable to secure it.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta also said at TheGrill on Wednesday that he remains concerned about CNN’s future under Paramount, pointing to the editorial safeguards included in the settlement.
“I care about our information ecosystem. It’s broken,” Bonta said. “Of course I’m concerned about it.”
Delrahim, who previously led the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division during President Donald Trump’s first administration, also acknowledged Wednesday that he had been surprised by how political the merger process became.
