A star CNN reporter is poised to make a surprise exit as the cable network braces for the political impact of an imminent Paramount takeover.
Paula Reid has reportedly told the cable network she will leave when her current contract expires, according to reporting by Status.
The shock exit comes as Paramount’s $111 billion takeover of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is nearing completion, with Trump’s Department of Justice approving the merger earlier this month.
Paramount’s billionaire boss, David Ellison, is now facing a potential hurdle to wrap up the deal by September, with Britain’s culture minister stating this week she may intervene in the global deal on “public interest grounds.”
The merger has sparked speculation about possible editorial changes at the network, which President Trump regularly criticizes.
Ellison overhauled CBS News after a previous acquisition, installing MAGA-friendly Bari Weiss as the editor-in-chief of the news department.
That led to an exodus at 60 Minutes, after reporters and management complained about pandering to the Trump administration.
Reid, 43, joined CNN in 2021 and is the network’s chief legal affairs correspondent.
Status claims that Reid declined taking a generous renewal deal, and instead told management she intends to leave when her current deal is up.
Reid has had “candid conversations” with CNN executives where she flagged her concerns about the looming acquisition by Paramount, according to Status. She expressed her “discomfort with the takeover and the uncertainty it has cast over CNN’s future,” according to the report.
CNN executives wanted Reid to stay with the network, but were “unable to offer assurances” about what impact Ellison’s ownership will have on editorial coverage.
Status said Reid felt “the uncertainly surrounding the merger” was too great, and decided against risking staying at CNN considering its “unsettled future.”
A spokesman for CNN declined to comment on the report when approached by the Daily Beast.
Prior to joining CNN, Reid worked for CBS for over 10 years, serving as the network’s White House correspondent, where she regularly clashed with President Trump over his strict border policies and slow reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump singled out Reid in 2020 for irritating him during pandemic briefings.
“Paula Reid, she’s sitting there and I say, ‘How angry. I mean, what’s the purpose?’ They’re not even tough questions, but you see the attitude of these people, it’s like incredible,” Trump said.
Reid is the first major CNN correspondent to leave the network ahead of Ellison’s takeover, however Status reports that technology journalist Kara Swisher, who works as an on-air contributor for CNN, “has repeatedly said in recent months she will depart” when the Paramount deal is settled.
Flagship CNN reporter Anderson Cooper left his nearly 20-year role at 60 Minutes after the Ellison shakedown at CBS, which Status claimed was over his “frustration with Weiss’ management,” while the publication claims a number of other journalists at the network are “privately weighing their future.”
Longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley was also fired after he clashed with Nick Bilton, the magazine show’s new executive producer, during a heated meeting in which Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering” 60 Minutes.
During an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box in May, Ellison insisted CNN’s editorial will be maintained after his takeover.
“It’s maintained at CBS,” he claimed. “It’ll be maintained at CNN. And, really, who we want to talk to is the 70 percent of Americans and really around the world that identify as center-left, as center-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.”
Ellison added that, “CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team. And we absolutely believe in, you know, the independence that needs to be maintained obviously for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward.”
Trump has consistently slammed CNN, calling them “Corrupt and now Irrelevant,” as well as insisting they are “Fake News” and a “Low Ratings Disaster.”
The 80-year-old has repeatedly blasted CNN host Kaitlan Collins, 34, for not smiling in his presence during press briefings.
“CNN’s crooked as hell, CNN’s a very corrupt organization, with a corrupt reporter standing right there, never smiles,” Trump said this month.
“She never... a young, beautiful woman [who] never smiles. I never see a smile off her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes.”
However, the president has shared his hope that his ally Ellison could make CNN more to his liking, after saying it was now “woke.”
“Maybe the new buyers, wonderful people, will be able to bring it back to its former credibility and glory,” Trump said in May.
