{"id":544,"date":"2026-06-18T16:35:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/?p=544"},"modified":"2026-06-18T16:35:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:35:26","slug":"cnn-contributor-vows-to-exit-if-incompetent-ellisons-and-their-minions-take-over-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/?p=544","title":{"rendered":"CNN contributor vows to exit if \u2018incompetent\u2019 Ellisons and their \u2018minions\u2019 take over network"},"content":{"rendered":"

CNN contributor Kara Swisher vowed to leave the network if the Ellison family, whom she derided as \u201cincompetent,\u201d and their \u201chandpicked minions\u201d take over the network in the wake of\u00a0Paramount\u2019s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the CNN thing, well, you know my feelings on that,\u201d Swisher said in a Tuesday episode of her podcast \u201cPivot,\u201d with co-host Scott Galloway. \u201cI mean, I\u2019m leaving as soon as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US Department of Justice has\u00a0cleared the blockbuster media merger<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 which will combine Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, Warner Bros., HBO Max, CNN and CBS under one roof \u2014 though the deal is still awaiting approval from European Union and UK regulators.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Kara<\/a><\/div>
CNN contributor Kara Swisher vowed to leave the network if the \u201cincompetent\u201d Ellison family and their \u201chandpicked minions\u201d take over the channel.Getty Images for CNN<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CNN staffers have reportedly been\u00a0panicking over the acquisition<\/a>, pointing to big shakeups at CBS News under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.<\/p>\n

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison put her in the role with a mandate to bring more balance to the network, prompting concern that similar changes are on the way at CNN if and when it comes under Paramount\u2019s aegis.<\/p>\n

During the Tuesday podcast, Galloway voiced surprise at his co-host\u2019s assertion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been trying to talk me into doing s\u2013t at CNN for 24 months!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Swisher argued \u201cthat was before\u201d Paramount won a bidding war for CNN parent WBD, which has left it unclear whether\u00a0Weiss will eventually take over editorial operations at the network\u00a0<\/a>or\u00a0current boss Mark Thompson will keep his role<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me try to outline it,\u201d Swisher said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to work for the Ellisons and I don\u2019t want to work for their handpicked minions because I think they\u2019re incompetent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I love working with the people at CNN. I very much like Mark Thompson, and I hope they put him in charge because I think he would do a great job,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Larry3<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Oracle big Larry Ellison (left) with son Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison at the Los Angeles premiere of \u201cStar Trek Into Darkness\u201d on May 14, 2013.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t see any way that these people make good decisions and I don\u2019t trust them. That\u2019s it. I don\u2019t want to work for tech people,\u201d Swisher added. \u201cI\u2019m just not staying. There\u2019s lots of places to go. I think TV\u2019s great, but it\u2019s not that great, like to put up with this s\u2013t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Galloway joked that Swisher should call up longtime \u201c60 Minutes\u201d correspondent Leslie Stahl, who announced in a joint memo with fellow journos Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim that\u00a0they would stay at the newsmagazine<\/a>\u00a0despite\u00a0expressing outrage over a recent purge at the network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stahl told the New York Times that\u00a0David Ellison personally called her<\/a>\u00a0and promised to respect the independence of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d after the network fired Scott Pelley and ousted several top producers and correspondents.<\/p>\n

Swisher laughed at Galloway\u2019s sarcastic suggestion to phone Stahl, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t think I have the power to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"CNN3<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
CNN staffers have reportedly been panicking over the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition.Roza Gurevich \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s lots of other options and I\u2019m under contract with them until the end of the year and I\u2019m hoping they\u2019ll let me out early, because I don\u2019t want to affiliate with them,\u201d Swisher said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left [Rupert] Murdoch, too. This is not a new, fresh thing for Kara Swisher to flounce out and do better. No one cares, but it says something,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CNN contributor Kara Swisher vowed to leave the network if the Ellison family, whom she derided as \u201cincompetent,\u201d and their \u201chandpicked minions\u201d take over the network in the wake of\u00a0Paramount\u2019s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. \u201cWith the CNN thing, well, you know my feelings on that,\u201d Swisher said in a Tuesday episode of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":546,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions\/546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}