CNN is heading into the hands of a family closely tied to President Donald Trump, placing one of his most frequent media targets under new ownership. The shift comes through the Ellison family’s takeover of CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery.

The transaction is set to take effect Tuesday through Warner Bros. Discovery’s merger with Paramount. Billionaire Larry Ellison, described as a close Trump ally, has supported the media expansion being led by his son, David Ellison.

Despite the ownership shakeup, CNN’s top executive is staying in place. A leadership lineup announced Monday named Mark Thompson as chairman and editor-in-chief.

Thompson will report to Skydance CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz. The arrangement leaves CNN’s current leader at the helm as the network enters its new corporate chapter.

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Trump has openly called for CNN to change hands. In December, the president said, “It’s imperative that CNN be sold.”

War Secretary Pete Hegseth also welcomed the possibility that David Ellison would take control of the network. He made his position plain in March.

“The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” Hegseth said in March.

The deal places CNN and Paramount’s CBS News beneath the same corporate roof. Monday’s announcement, however, did not signal an immediate combination of the two news organizations.

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David Ellison has already made significant leadership changes at CBS News. After acquiring Paramount in August 2025, he purchased The Free Press and installed its founder Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief.

At CNN, Thompson will remain in charge after three years running the network. The former BBC and New York Times Co. chief previously told employees that he wanted to remain “if the circumstances are right.”

Thompson met with Paramount executives several times last week, according to sources familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Wall Street Journal first reported that David Ellison had asked Thompson to stay.

In a Monday memo, Thompson told CNN employees that the incoming owners backed his digital strategy and considered news a business worth developing.

“First, I’m convinced that from David Ellison on down, Paramount Skydance leadership really does believe in news alongside entertainment as a top strategic opportunity for our new company. They’ve seen our digital strategy and are as excited about it as we are.”

Thompson also told employees that he had received assurances about his editorial authority. His message presented the incoming Paramount Skydance leadership as supportive of CNN’s existing approach to independent news.

“And second, having now spoken to them at length of the topic, I have real confidence that they both understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for,” Thompson wrote.

“That’s why I will be leading CNN into this new chapter as it becomes one of Skydance’s suite of major media assets and global brands, and leading it as an independent editor-in-chief with the same responsibilities and prerogatives that I have now.”

Some CNN employees had raised concerns about editorial independence after Paramount prevailed in the bidding war for Warner in February. Thompson’s decision to remain followed his discussions with the incoming leadership.

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Trump, Hegseth and other administration officials attended a private dinner with David Ellison and other Paramount leaders in April. The dinner was described as off the record.

The Justice Department approved the merger in June. The Journal reported that career staffers had expressed misgivings about the transaction before its approval.

For now, the new owners are keeping Thompson and his leadership structure intact. CNN will become one of Skydance’s major media assets while sharing a corporate home with CBS News, where David Ellison has already reshaped the top leadership.

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