David Ellison, chief of Paramount Skydance, delivered a message about the future of liberal propaganda makers at CNN, attempting to calm fears on the left about the network losing editorial independence while also appealing to the right by promising it will be “in the truth business.” I mean, CNN hasn’t focused on telling the truth in decades, so such a statement is pretty intriguing—especially since Ellison supports President Donald Trump.
“CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team, and we absolutely believe in the independence that needs to be maintained, obviously for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward,” Ellison said during an interview with CNBC. That seems like a lot of kissing-up to the same news team that has produced anti-Trump, anti-Republican narratives for what feels like an eternity. How about just calling a spade a spade?
Ellison made these comments just several days after streaming giant Netflix suddenly withdrew from a lengthy bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving Paramount as the assumed winner that will acquire the company and its many valuable assets, including CNN, HBO, and, of course, the Warner Bros. film studio. Imagine Paramount gaining access to the classic catalogue of movies and television series the studio produced on its streaming service. It’s a huge win.
“Who we want to talk to is the 70 percent of Americans, and really around the world, that identify as centre-left or centre-right. And we want to be in the truth business. We want to be in the trust business. And that’s not going to change,” he stated during the interview.
However, Ellison and his team at Paramount still must complete a lengthy regulatory approval process—including a vote by Warner shareholders—before the company can take control of Warner Bros. Discovery’s media properties. Larry Ellison, David’s billionaire father and one of the wealthiest men alive, provided most of the financial resources for the takeover. He, too, supports President Trump.
If regulators approve the deal, this doesn’t automatically mean you’ll start seeing only based conservative content on the Paramount+ streaming service. But it is a huge victory for the right in the culture war, as the company will likely produce fewer super-woke movies. In other words, audiences will see more balance—a little something for everyone. That’s a much better direction than the one Hollywood currently follows.
After the Ellisons took over Paramount last year, they immediately made significant changes at CBS. Executives carried out several big personnel moves in the news division that some observers interpreted as making the network more sympathetic to conservative criticism of mainstream media.
When Ellison was asked about the budget-slashing that is supposedly going to take place after the merger is completed, the Paramount head honcho said the company “will absolutely have to rationalize the overall corporate overhead of the company.” However, he added that the planned cuts would not affect the company’s overall creative ambitions.
Let’s hope the deal goes through without a hitch. Conservatives who want better representation in Hollywood media need a platform that welcomes entertainment with quality storytelling and expresses right-wing values.
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