CNN’s Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid is poised to leave the network ahead of Paramount’s takeover, according to reports.
Her exit comes as Paramount, which owns CBS, is set to acquire CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, in a massive $111 billion deal that has left some CNN staff reportedly feeling uncertain about the network’s future.
The 43-year-old correspondent, whose contract was set to expire this summer, declined a generous renewal deal from network executives and said she plans to leave, according to Status, a media industry newsletter. It was not immediately clear if she has another job lined up.
Reid had the option to renew but chose to exit amid uncertainty ahead of the merger, sources told Variety.
The legal correspondent has long been a fixture across CNN’s programming after joining the network in 2021 following a stint at CBS News. She covered the Supreme Court and federal and state investigations of top officials, including President Donald Trump.
The Independent has contacted CNN for comment.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division approved Paramount Skydance Corp’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery last month, saying that the transaction poses no threat to competition across streaming, traditional television or the film industry.
Analysts expected the deal to move forward without a hitch due to Paramount’s political connections. CEO David Ellison and his father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, both have ties to Trump.
Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi said politics would not be a factor in the DOJ’s decision, and Paramount has argued that the deal has no antitrust problems. Paramount also claims that the merged companies will increase pressure on Disney and Netflix to compete and keep prices competitive.
California, New York and several other states are preparing a lawsuit to block the Paramount deal, sources told Reuters.
The merger would put both CBS and CNN under the same ownership. It has raised concerns for some CNN employees as editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’s tenure at CBS News has proven controversial.
Weiss, who has no broadcast experience, started her “anti-woke” media outlet, The Free Press, in 2021 before it was bought by Paramount for approximately $150 million in cash and Paramount stock. She was hired to lead CBS News by David Ellison after his company bought Paramount Global for $8 billion last year.
Since taking on the role, Weiss has fired 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. She then hired tech journalist Nick Bilton as executive producer and fired the show’s veteran correspondent Scott Pelley after the pair clashed.
She has also been accused by critics of being too Trump-friendly, and her hiring caused some producers to quit on ideological grounds.
CNN star Anderson Cooper has also reportedly told colleagues he does not want to work with Weiss, The New York Times reported.
The Independent previously contacted a spokesperson for Cooper for comment.
Cooper and Weiss overlapped when he worked as a correspondent for CBS’s 60 Minutes. Cooper left the program this spring after 20 years.
David Ellison said in an interview with CNBC earlier this year that CNN’s “editorial independence will absolutely be maintained.” He has said he wants his news networks to appeal to the middle “70 percent” of Americans.
“CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team, and we absolutely believe in the independence that needs to be maintained for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward,” Ellison said. “Editorial, independence will absolutely be maintained. It is maintained at CBS, it will be maintained at CNN.”
