Variety: CNN Mood "Like a Funeral" After Paramount/Skydance Takeover

But their ratings are so good, why should they worry?

CNN Mood 'Like a Funeral' as Paramount's Warner Bros. Win Casts New Haze on Next Steps

Just when staffers at CNN thought the news giant's path to the future was becoming more clear, new fog has set in.

In recent weeks, the Warner Bros. Discovery outlet appeared to have found its groove. Yes, its linear ratings are down noticeably from the era when it won notice for its aggressive coverage of President Trump's first term, and there are serious questions about whether they will ever come back. But the company appeared to be making some gains with digital audiences with its recently launched "CNN All Access" subscription service, where CNN has been testing new programming formats.

LOL. Their ratings are in the crapper but they're making "some gains" with digital.

Like CNN Plus. You remember CNN Plus, right?

On the traditional side, despite the viewership challenges, CNN has seen personnel like Abby Phillip and Harry Enten gain some traction.

"Some" traction.

This propagandist is really straining to find ways to claim that CNN is performing well in "some" ways. They say that Warner Bros. claims that CNN will post a profit this year, but I've heard Disney's Bob Iger claiming everything is going great at the Groomer Network, so I don't put much stock in corporate predictions of plenty.

Now for the truth:

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The mood at CNN is "like a funeral," says one person familiar with the operation.

CNN personnel have reason to worry. Paramount's management of CBS News has been controversial, and has not been good for the business of the news unit. Changes made under Bari Weiss, installed last year as editor in chief, have brought unnecessary scrutiny to news reports, and anchors have made public entreaties on Instagram when people post notes suggesting that Weiss' background as a digital entrepreneur and provocative opinion writer have muddied the newsgathering at the network.

The right has brought "scrutiny" to left-wing media reporting for 40+ years but this was never before seen as a problem. Now that lefties are complaining about editorial decisions, it's a National Concern.

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But staffers are also concerned about the company's business plans being changed -- yet again. "What an enormous loss and disruption it would be to shuffle leadership for the umpteenth time in the midst -- finally -- of reshaping the business," says one CNN staffer.

Expert opinion: Companies that are performing well are not subject to frequent leadership changes, just as winning teams aren't frequently subjected to new coaching staffs.

CNN employees have reason to wring their hands....

Without a boost from new digital revenue, CNN's business will likely decline, according to projections from Kagan, a market-research unit of S&P Global Intelligence. CNN's cash flow is seen falling to $735.3 million in 2027, according to Kagan, down nearly 10% from $815.9 million in 2025. A projected spike in 2026 is due to midterm election coverage, which typically draws broader audiences. Advertising is projected to fall about 6.6% to $457.6 million in 2027, according to Kagan, compared with $489.8 million in 2025. Cash from distribution, however, is expected to keep rising.

CNN must also grapple with how much independence it will have under Paramount. Paramount Skydance CEO has put CBS News into unorthodox situations by holding a private dinner with personnel from the news division and the Trump administration and by hiring a factotum ombudsman to monitor CBS who has staunch partisan ties.

It's not unusual for "news" personnel to meet with politicians, as Jake Tapper could tell you of his fly-fishing with Gavin Newsom or freindship-building dinners with Anthony Fauci.

But what is unacceptable is meeting with conservative politicians.

News rivals wonder why CBS News seems so eager to put U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth into so many of its programs -- he was a big "get" interview during Tony Dokoupil's first "CBS Evening News" telecast and appeared on last week's season premiere of "60 Minutes" -- when Hegseth's Pentagon has been so hostile to traditional press outlets.

Yeah why would a "news" organization want to interview the Secretary of War during a war? Inconceivable!

Now on to the deal struck with the left-wing AGs -- which they admit is largely just a paper notion on a press release.

The solution -- for now -- is to be found in the formation of a board designed to govern both CNN and CBS News. Under the terms of an agreement unveiled Monday between Paramount and a set of attorneys general who were blocking the merger, this board is expected to set up guiding principles for "accuracy, independence, fairness and journalistic integrity."

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Such bodies have proven largely ineffectual in the past.

More: CNN staffers are in "a panic."

"People are very nervous," one CNN staffer told the outlet. "It's dark. It's like when you do hurricane coverage. You see the storm spinning off the coast of Haiti and moving towards Florida and you're just waiting and you're like, 'Oh, s--t'."

"Bloodbath coming, including at CNN," a TV executive confided. "That's the next big step -- slashing and burning," while others also drew death-by-takeover comparisons.

The outbreak of fear and loathing at CNN goes back as far as June this year when, as Breitbart News reported, many CNN employees were so worried over the evolving merger they turned their boss's office into a makeshift "psychiatrist's couch," according to a report.

CNN staffers were worried over Paramount boss David Ellison's connections to Trump -- as well as that of Ellison's father, Larry, who is a huge Trump donor.

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Now their worst nightmares have been realised.

Hello! Happy Midweek!

posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:24 PM

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