Thompson’s White House Trek
Last Thursday, CNN boss Mark Thompson and a small entourage of staff quietly made a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But the visit to the White House, which has not previously been reported, was not to meet with Trump administration officials. It was to meet with the network’s anxious staff as the pending Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger casts a shadow of uncertainty over the news organization.
Indeed, I’m told that inside CNN’s White House unit, there is growing concern about what the merger might mean for the team of reporters covering Donald Trump. Trump and his aides have publicly clamored for David Ellison to gain control of the network, with not-so-subtle implications of an overhaul—including potential firings—once Paramount gets the keys to CNN. Trump and his top officials have routinely singled out correspondents Kaitlan Collins and Kristen Holmes in attacks. But up until now, the team has had the backing of management, which has stood behind its reporting. With Ellison so overtly kowtowing to Trump, some have wondered whether that would remain the case under his ownership.
Adding to the anxiety is the fact that CBS News has a robust White House unit of its own. Ellison has planned to merge the two news organizations, and the overlap is expected to lead to job cuts, leaving CNN reporters on the beat uneasy—particularly with Trump’s ire so often focused on the network’s White House coverage.
It was against this backdrop that Thompson visited the team during his trip to Washington, which also included other “check in” meetings at the bureau with various beat teams. During the White House meeting, according to people familiar with the matter, the CNN chief was…
California Attorney General Rob Bonta. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/LADN via Getty Images)
Status Scoop | Bonta’s Bari Broadside: Rob Bonta is alarmed by Bari Weiss’ makeover of CBS News. In a Tuesday interview with Status—which will air on our weekly Power Lines podcast (subscribe on Apple Podcasts and YouTube)—the California attorney general did not mince words about how the news network has been overhauled under David Ellison’s ownership…
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