Exclusive Details: Inside Bari Weiss’ Closed-Doors Meeting With Top CNN Executives

[00:00:00]Just a reminder, if you're not already subscribed to the show, be sure to hit the like and subscribe buttons on YouTube right below so you never miss an episode. So, Oliver, this week you exclusively reported in Status that David Ellison's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is already prompting conversations about how two of the nation's biggest news organizations, that's CNN and CBS News, might begin working together should this merger happen. Senior executives from both CBS News and CNN recently met for the first time in a previously unreported introductory meeting. Oliver, you were the first to report on this. It sounds like we are talking about the top leadership of both sides, which has to have been pretty interesting and maybe also slightly uncomfortable.

[00:00:50]Um what did you hear and and what are you making of this?

[00:00:53]>> Yeah, it was an interesting meeting. So, this has happened a few weeks ago, John.

[00:00:56]Um it was an introductory meeting as part of these integration uh meetings at CBS and Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery and CNN have been having as they inch closer to this marriage. As you said, uh in this meeting was Barry Weiss. She was in the meeting. Tom Sabrowski, the CBS News president, was in the meeting.

[00:01:14]Um on the CNN side, Mark Thompson, the chief executive of CNN, was there. Chief operating officer and digital guru Alex McCollum was there. Uh Virginia Mosley, the executive editor of CNN, she was there. And notably, uh Paramount uh boss uh or chief operating officer Andy Gordon, who's kind of been overseeing a lot of the stuff, he was also there and and a bunch of others. Warner Bros.

[00:01:37]Discovery corporate folks were there.

[00:01:39]Some other Paramount folks were there.

[00:01:40]And anyway, the point of the meeting here was for Paramount to have a better understanding of CNN's strategy. So, there are all these rules about gun jumping and um in corporate mergers. So, Paramount cannot technically right now, they can't influence CNN's decision-making. They can't say, "We like what you're doing here. We hate what you're doing there." They can't do that. Um that would be gun-jumping and it'd be a big no-no. But what they do get, they are entitled to, is to know what this asset that they're buying is doing, what its strategy looks like, and have a better familiarity with it. That way, when Paramount takes over, they're not just, you know, totally uh they they have some background knowledge. And so, at this meeting, um the three CNN executives, Mark Thompson, Alex McCollum, and Virginia Moseley, they presented the CNN strategy to Barry Weiss, Tom Sobolski, and Andy Gordon, and all these other Paramount executives. And my understanding is that Alex McCollum took the lead, obviously, on presenting the digital strategy.

[00:02:38]She's the architect of the new streaming service and the subscription service that CNN's really uh betting on for its for its future. And then Virginia Moseley, who's the executive editor, she talked about how CNN distributes its reporting across a array of platforms, television, um its digital website, social media platforms, et cetera, et cetera. Um we don't know exactly how the meeting went other than that. That's that's that's the extent to what we know happened during this meeting. It's really a standard meeting. There've been a lot of these meetings between different brands inside Warner Bros.

[00:03:08]Discovery and Paramount as they uh again get ready to be unified under one roof.

[00:03:14]But it does show this is very serious.

[00:03:16]We are in the final stages, I think, of uh this corporate merger happening. And uh Paramount's now getting a real peek under the hood as to what CNN's up to.

[00:03:28]>> Yeah, you have to imagine that this was a little tricky and uncomfortable for especially the CNN side here that is effectively being taken over by the Paramount CBS side. And in our previous reporting, we've talked about the fact that David Ellison has told Donald Trump in private meetings that he intends to make changes to CNN. So, you can imagine if you're one of these executives on the CNN side huddling in Hudson Yards or in Atlanta Techwood for this meeting that you're thinking in the back of your mind like I may be meeting my maker here in a way because once they come in and once they are in a leadership position my role may not be needed here and as you pointed out in our reporting this week that the first targets perhaps of corporate synergies the nice way of saying layoffs and you know significant changes as you combine two large organizations like this that have a lot of overlap especially on the back end could perhaps be some of these shared infrastructure parts of the org like executive leadership human resources legal comms marketing etc. I I'm curious if you have any insight into some of the thinking on the CNN side here which is that well we're going to put on a brave face here we're going to do our best to work forward and try to I mean with the look they want to I I imagine right try to make this as amicable and seamless of a transition as possible and perhaps find a way to where the existing leadership of the network can continue to be there CNN is going to definitely need dedicated leadership to run that network right it's just too big it's a rolling 24/7 operation especially has an international channel component but I imagine that they are angling to try to make sure that there is stability moving forward with all of this even though in the back of their minds they've been watching what's happened at CBS News and it's been nothing but tumultuous chaotic I mean insert your adverb here it's been crazy over there >> Well can you imagine John you're a CNN executive right now and you're having to present to Barry Weiss. You have all this experience and Barry Weiss is sitting there and you're presenting to Barry Weiss who may well be your future boss. I mean, that's a really interesting awkward dynamic I think there. And uh you're hoping probably that David Ellison does not allow Barry Weiss to run your network, but you are you know, you are in this meeting and she is the CBS News pres- or editor-in-chief and she is poised, at least has been poised to take over some editorial oversight of your network. So, you have Virginia Mosley who has decades of experience um in editorial, running CNN, running television broadcasts, having to present to someone who has literally no experience and hoping that Barry Weiss liked what she heard because that could be your job on the line. Um there's a lot of things that are going to happen right away. And you mentioned the synergies with the back office. That's that's obvious and Paramount's going to want to exploit those synergies as fast as possible because they're going to have a lot of debt to pay down and so they're going to want to reduce any extra costs right away, right? One of the things that's people are talking about is well, the real estate issue, right? Right now, um CBS is broadcasting from a very old, aging office on 57th Street on the west side of Manhattan, the CBS Broadcast Center. It's not a not a nice place. I think even even the CBS folks would acknowledge it's not very nice. In fact, Tom Sabrowski when he toured Hudson Yards and the Techwood campus, my understanding is he commented about how nice CNN's facilities were, how modern they were. And the reason Tom Sabrowski is touring the campuses likely uh and surveying the control rooms and the production studios and all of that jazz is because my guess and this is what industry insiders are saying as well is that Paramount would seek to unify the real estate pretty quickly as well or as quick as possible. So, move the CBS stuff over to Hudson Yards, move it to Techwood, and then just sell the 57th Street um you know, studio space or office space and make some money on the real estate.

[00:07:43]So, that's that's something that's in the air as well. The the tricky thing that everyone points to is how you deal with a unionized workforce and a non-unionized workforce merging together. And I don't have the answer to that. I talked to a lot of people not only this week, John, but over the course of the last several months.

[00:08:00]Uh famously CBS and CNN executives in the past have looked at a way to unify and they have always been stumbled or stumbled upon this obstacle of well, CBS is unionized and CNN's not. And how do you merge those two workforces? And I don't know. It seems hard to believe, maybe impossible to believe, that David Ellison would bite the bullet and allow CNN to become a unionized workforce. But it I I was talking to one someone else this week and someone who should know and and they were saying, "Look, if there's a there's workarounds, you know, they can do some licensing of shows maybe or there's some workarounds they can find, but if they get too cute here, if they get a little bit, you know, like obviously sidestepping the union rules, the union's not going to be happy and they're going to make some noise and that's going to present a problem for David Ellison as well. So, I don't know what creative solution Paramount has in its back pocket. Maybe maybe they have one for dealing with this issue as they try merging these two workforces and and consolidating the news operation to save money, but it's going to be very tricky and I I've talked to a lot of people and and there hasn't been a firm answer and I think that's why you're not seeing one reported anywhere in the press.

[00:09:13]>> Yeah, I I'm reminded actually of I think it was earlier this year or last year when the CBS News streaming service went which is represented by unionized staff picketed out in front of their offices after they were unable to come together for a deal and that was a sort of mostly PR problem, I think, at the moment for Tom and and Barry over there where you have you know you you sort of just have this new changing of the guard with this new administration running CBS News and then you have staffers outside picketing saying you know that we have an unfair working conditions and we can't come together on wages.

[00:09:52]Um I can't imagine they want to see something like that potentially happen down the road at CNN and it sounds like a potential headache for them that they would love to avoid. But I do think one thing that's I've been thinking about a lot here with this and is sort of out there publicly is that you also have this talent problem on the CNN side sticking around perhaps under a new ownership with Paramount and CBS News. Barry Weiss has made it so uncomfortable for some of the staff to remain at CBS News that you saw folks like Anderson Cooper elect not to stay at 60 Minutes because of what we have previously reported, some of the changes that have happened there and some of the political pressures we've now seen multiple correspondents leave and and executive producers on the show like Bill Owens talk about political pressures that are now happening behind the scenes under David Ellison's Paramount that um I was struck this week when we heard Kara Swisher on her podcast Pivot with Scott Galloway talk about the fact that there is now no way she will stick around.

[00:11:04]>> I don't want to work for the Ellises and I don't want to work for their handpicked minions cuz I think they're incompetent. That is what I've said over and over again. And I I like I love working with the people at CNN. I very much like Mark Thompson.

[00:11:16]>> Yeah, I like him too. Smart guy.

[00:11:18]>> And I hope they put him in charge cuz I think he would do a great job. I just don't see any way that these people make good decisions and I don't trust them.

[00:11:26]That's it.

[00:11:26]>> I do wonder if we're going to see not entirely a let's say Paramount leadership come in and want to push out some of the talent that they don't love.

[00:11:37]I I'm also curious if some of the talent there is like there's no way I'm going to work under these people.

[00:11:42]>> Yeah, I'm I mean Anderson Cooper left CNN or sorry left CBS to retreated back to CNN because he did not want to work on 60 minutes with Barry Weiss being in charge and meddling. And uh that was you know um tough decision for him because he's been there he had been there for nearly two decades. He really loved 60 minutes is my understanding and those people >> Nobody leaves like that by the way. That was an extraordinary move, right? No one just like ducks out of 60.

[00:12:10]>> No, it's like a lifetime appointment, right? You are at 60 minutes forever once you're 60 minutes correspondent.

[00:12:16]It's a really big deal and as we've pointed out before, it's like a family over there. Those producers, um the the people behind the scenes, they know the talent they're working with, they love them, they they know their kids, they they I mean this is not this is this is a very strong unified workforce.

[00:12:34]Um and the fact that Anderson Cooper decided to leave was really devastating to the team there, but it showed that he really does not want to deal with Barry Weiss. And now she's going to potentially have oversight over his CNN show and does someone like Anderson Cooper want to stick around for that?

[00:12:50]Like he has a very long distinguished career. He can do a lot of things. He doesn't really need to be on CNN to be honest. Like he can he can have a podcast, he can do books, he can do specials for networks. I'm sure there's a high demand for Anderson Cooper over at 30 Rock or ABC or wherever, right? He doesn't need uh the Allisons and CNN.

[00:13:09]Does he want to stay? We'll see. I mean we'll see. We don't know.

[00:13:12]Um but it's not just Anderson Cooper and Kara Swisher. There are a lot of I think we're seeing like this week at um or in the past couple weeks at at CBS News and Paramount, there are a lot of people who keep the trains running on time who are very critical behind the scenes that uh can leave and it can cause damage and problems for the network. Producers, people who run the international bureaus, one of these people leaving is is not, you know, going to devastate the organization, but it's kind of like a game of Jenga, right? You start taking out all these blocks and the whole thing can eventually topple over. And so I do wonder with Barry Weiss coming in potentially at CNN, are there going to be more people who say, "You know what? I'm done. I I don't really I don't really need this in my life. I'm, you know, maybe close to retirement. I have enough money. I have options elsewhere. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm done."

[00:14:02]>> Yeah. Um I do still think that there is an asterisk on this deal, right? So this last week it was approved by the Justice Department. Trump's Justice Department apparently just rubber stamped this thing even over the career Justice Department attorneys who were taking very close look at this.

[00:14:19]Like this is according to the Wall Street Journal who reported that some of them had concerns about it and were planning to suggest that the Justice Department should sue to stop this deal from coming together over antitrust issues. Um as we know now, they went ahead and a green lit it on a Friday afternoon. So um it looks like the deal's moving forward on the federal level, but we still have the states including California's Attorney General Rob Bonta, New York, and a handful of others that according to reports are are planning their own lawsuit to stop this deal. It's possible that they just put the brakes on it for a bit and that makes things really tough for the Ellisons. It squeezes more cash out of them because they have this ticking feed deadline problem coming up in September.

[00:15:07]Um but it could also mean that they extract concessions. We've seen the states be able to successfully pull this off in the past where they forced Oh, right now in fact, the Tegna and Nexstar deal is totally on the brakes even after the federal justice department approved this mega merger of local TV stations, they may be forced to spin off stations.

[00:15:28]You could see a scenario where Paramount is forced to make some kind of concessions. And we've talked we've we've reported in recent days that they have looked at even spinning off children's programming in Europe in order to get past regulators there who are also taking a look. So, it's also not a guaranteed done deal here, right? But in the meantime, it sounds like behind the scenes everybody is proceeding moving forward as if this is going to happen in the next few months.

[00:15:55]>> Definitely. Yeah, we'll see what happens. I mean, maybe maybe they'll force a a sale of CNN to someone like Barry Diller who's been openly expressing interest in purchasing CNN.

[00:16:04]There are probably be a lot of people who would love to purchase CNN.

[00:16:07]>> And that would still fulfill the bargain with Trump, which is that it would get new leadership at CNN, right? It would still change hands.

[00:16:14]>> Well, it'll get new ownership. It wouldn't mean that there'd be new leadership in in in play. I think that Donald Trump really wants CNN to be in the Ellison's hands. I mean, you see how close Donald Trump is with the Ellison.

[00:16:24]Ellison on Sunday was at, you know, ringside at the White House talking to Donald Trump. I don't know what he was saying, but he was saying something to Donald Trump. And Donald Trump clearly keeps receiving him at the White House.

[00:16:36]They're very close. He's praising him in public. There's a reason that Donald Trump likes the Ellison so much, and he obviously wants them to control CNN for reasons that are pretty clear, I think, to everyone at this point. So, we'll see.

[00:16:49]It's possible something could happen in the last minute. These are uh fluid situations. Thank you for watching Power Lines. For more analysis and insight, subscribe to our YouTube channel down below. Like this video, and you can watch more of us right over here.