Two Crowns

As David Ellison prepares to take charge of CNN, Donald Trump tests the limits of his power.

This week promises—or threatens, depending on your interpretation—to be a major one for the American press. On Tuesday, Paramount Skydance is expected to close its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal worth 111 billion dollars. This will result in the formation of a new global media behemoth, known simply as Skydance. Its chief executive, David Ellison, a man who held a gala this year “honoring the Trump White House,” will then control two of the five news organizations that make up the White House broadcast pool, CBS News and CNN. The latter of those networks is currently being shut out of its pool duties at Trump’s direction. On September 18, Trump said he was ejecting CNN from the White House press corps along with MS Now and Politico. Judge Timothy J. Kelly, of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, issued a temporary restraining order forcing the reinstatement of journalists from the banned outlets to the press corps. But the administration has continued to bar CNN’s cameras from the broadcast pool, creating a new distinction within long-standing access norms. At 11am ET on Thursday, the same day the restraining order is set to expire, Kelly will hear arguments from the banished outlets, all of which are hoping to regain permanent access. If the stars align, this could be the week Ellison is crowned king of broadcast news, and Donald Trump faces limits on his power to control the press.