Should Paramount Skydance prevail in its $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Larry Ellison family would control two historic Hollywood film studios, dozens of cable channels, HBO and two legendary newsrooms, CBS News and CNN. <\/p>\n
Concerns about the potential loss of more Hollywood jobs, and questions about newsroom independence, dominated a hearing Friday to address Los Angeles\u2019 crisis of shrinking film and TV production jobs.<\/p>\n
Paramount wants to wrap up its Warner merger<\/a> by September \u2014 a rapid timetable. The takeover deal, which was struck last month after Netflix bowed out, would put HBO and CNN under the control of Larry Ellison and his son David, the chairman of Paramount, which includes CBS. <\/p>\n Both Ellisons maintain friendly relations with President Trump. Those bonds, along with challenges to legacy media and changes at CBS News in recent months, sparked handwringing during the hearing called by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank)<\/a> and Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale).<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cThe questions surrounding this merger go beyond jobs, contracts and consumers,\u201d Schiff said. \u201cThey also go to editorial independence of two of America\u2019s most significant news organizations, CNN and CBS News.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has long agitated for changes at CNN, and members of his cabinet, including War Secretary Pete Hegseth, have openly cheered for an Ellison takeover of CNN. <\/p>\n To pave the way for the Ellisons\u2019 purchase of Paramount, the company paid $16 million to Trump last summer to settle his lawsuit over edits to a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview with Kamala Harris in October 2024. Most 1st Amendment experts had deemed Trump\u2019s suit \u201cfrivolous.\u201d <\/p>\n Since the Ellisons took the helm, there has been a change in direction at CBS News and a reduction in its size and scope. Staff members at CNN are bracing for similar changes, including to the tone of its newscasts.<\/p>\n In addition to the long-term health of Los Angeles\u2019 film economy, the merger\u2019s fate could determine \u201cwhether we have state sponsored media … or whether we have journalists who can truly follow the story,\u201d Friedman said.<\/p>\n A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n The deal is currently before<\/a> regulators in the U.S.<\/a> and abroad. <\/p>\n Paramount Chairman David Ellison has vowed to \u201cbuild a stronger Hollywood,\u201d by increasing the creative output of the two legendary movie studios \u2014 Paramount and Warner Bros. \u2014 to 30 theatrical releases a year. Warner Bros., which owns such prominent franchises as \u201cThe Matrix,\u201d Batman, Harry Potter, \u201cThe Big Bang Theory,\u201d and \u201cFriends,\u201d has long been one of Hollywood\u2019s most prolific studios.<\/p>\n But Paramount has suffered from years of under-investment and Ellison and his team have been working to boost the film pipeline.<\/p>\n