Free Republic

Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather weighed in on David Ellison’s hire of Bari Weiss as editor in chief at CBS News, warning that it portends a culture of fear in the news division as staffers worry about their jobs. On his Substack, Steady, Rather put Weiss’ hire in the context of the Skydance-Paramount merger, noting that the companies bowed to pressure from the Trump administration in order to get the transaction approved by the FCC. “That deal and the hiring of Weiss signals to everyone, especially to the man in the Oval Office, that CBS is no longer...

Larry and David Ellison’s holdings span movies, TV networks, CBS and soon a stake in TikTok, in a paradigm-shifting portfolio with huge influence.Journalists at CBS News reeled on Friday as they digested news reports that opinion journalist Bari Weiss, a fierce critic of the mainstream media, would become the editor in chief of the straitlaced legacy brand.Two months earlier, there had been cautious optimism in the Midtown Manhattan newsroom, according to two CBS News staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private information. Movie producer David Ellison, son of software billionaire Larry Ellison, dropped by to introduce...

Paramount Skydance is poised to name Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News in the coming days — giving the hard-charging journalist unusual clout to revamp the struggling network as it also acquires her scrappy news site the Free Press, The Post has learned. Weiss — a 41-year-old former New York Times opinion writer who has built the Free Press into a buzzworthy site with a contrarian bent — is expected to be named to the top post in a Monday announcement, although the talks are in flux and the timing could change, a source close to the...

Liberals are up in arms over reports that independent journalist Bari Weiss is eyeing a top role at CBS News as the new Paramount chief is inching closer to striking a major deal with her. Puck News reported Wednesday that Paramount CEO David Ellison, who just took over the company last month after his $8 billion merger with Skydance, is at the "one-yard line" with his plans to buy Weiss' online publication, The Free Press, and appoint her to a top editorial position at the struggling broadcast network. Weiss, a classical liberal who famously exited The New York Times in...

NEW YORK (AP) — Skydance and Paramount officially closed their $8 billion merger on Thursday — kicking off the reign of a new entertainment giant after a contentious, over year-long endeavor to get the transaction over the finish line. The new company — which will trade under the “PSKY” ticker on Wall Street — brings Paramount’s legacy Hollywood footprint, major TV networks like CBS and MTV, streaming services and more under the roof of a new power player: billionaire Skydance founder David Ellison. “Today marks an exciting and pivotal moment as we prepare to bring Paramount’s legacy as a Hollywood...

Stephen Colbert declared to Donald Trump that “the gloves are off” in his first broadcast since his Late Show was cancelled amid a political firestorm, as his fellow hosts lined up to defend him with Jon Stewart scathingly denouncing Paramount for trying to “censor and control” its hosts. Colbert, the top-rated late-night talk show host in the US, said last week on his CBS show Late Night – which he took over from David Letterman in 2015 – that Paramount’s decision to pay a $16m settlement to Trump over another flagship CBS show, 60 Minutes, amounted to a “big fat...

Protesters gathered in New York City to hold a “We’re With Colbert” rally on Sunday in support of the recently canned ” The Late Show” host. The rally was held outside of the CBS Broadcast Center on Manhattan‘s West Side, according to the New York Post. The outlet noted that only around 20 people showed up to the event, with most attendees — including the New York Police Department (NYPD) officers assigned to keep the peace — leaving shortly after it began. “Our country is not perfect, never has been,” the event organizer told the outlet. The event organizer went...

This week has demonstrated that the tech “broligarch” who’s most influenced President Donald Trump’s second administration isn’t Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, or Marc Andreessen—it’s Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the 80-year-old software tycoon who recently became the second-richest man in the world. Just look at everything that’s gone his way. On Thursday evening, the Federal Communications Commission finally voted to approve Paramount’s $8.4 billion merger with fellow entertainment firm Skydance Media. The controversial, long-awaited deal only came about thanks to Paramount’s appeals to this administration: settling a baseless lawsuit that Trump brought against 60 Minutes for “deceptively” editing its Kamala Harris...