‘Corporate Meddling and Editorial Fear’

The Ellisons are closing in on CNN.

On the morning of April 23, protesters gathered outside the Manhattan headquarters of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) ahead of an online shareholder vote. The shareholders were scheduled to decide whether to formally approve Paramount Skydance’s takeover offer—worth a hundred and eleven billion dollars—which would significantly expand the Ellison family’s media empire, adding another movie studio and a second news network, CNN, among a host of other assets, to its roster. On the street, demonstrators including David Borenstein, the Oscar-winning codirector of the documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, delivered speeches and held signs that read “#BlockTheMerger.” The protest, organized by Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment, followed an open letter opposing the deal that has now been signed by almost five thousand actors, directors, filmmakers, and journalists. “Increasingly, a small number of powerful entities determine what gets made—and on what terms,” the letter said. Despite the opposition, WBD shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the takeover.