Paramount CEO David Ellison used a guest essay in The New York Times to defend the company’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing that critics are driven less by antitrust concerns than by fears over his potential control of CNN.
Ellison rejected claims that he would politicize CNN or CBS News, pledging to preserve their editorial independence and to keep both organizations “down the middle.” He also contended that the combined company would remain far smaller than major technology platforms competing for audiences and advertising, while emphasizing that restoring public trust in journalism depends on factual, independent reporting.
The essay comes as the proposed $111 billion merger faces legal challenges from a coalition of U.S. states — California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington — and the Writers Guild.
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