Paul Reid to leave CNN at end of current deal: Report

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid has decided not to renew her contract with the network amid uncertainty over its future under David Ellison’s pending takeover of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, Status reported.

Paula Reid will reportedly land at MS NOW after potential CNN exit

A separate report later indicated that Reid would join MS NOW. 

Reid informed CNN management last week that she would leave when her contract expires later this summer, despite receiving what Status described as a generous renewal offer.

The decision makes Reid the first major full-time CNN journalist reported to be leaving over concerns about the network’s post-merger direction under Paramount Skydance, which is pursuing a $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Reid privately raised concerns with CNN executives about the deal and the lack of clarity around CNN’s future leadership and editorial structure, according to Status. Executives made a push to retain her but were unable to provide firm assurances because they have not been told how the network will be managed after the merger closes, the report said.

Reid joined CNN in 2021 after roughly a decade at CBS News, where she covered the Justice Department and later served as a White House correspondent. At CNN, she has become one of the network’s most visible legal journalists, covering the Supreme Court, federal investigations and legal issues involving Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Status reported that Reid has privately expressed concern about the changes made at CBS News since Ellison took control of Paramount Skydance.

Questions remain over who will lead CNN after the Warner Bros. Discovery deal closes. Status previously reported that the plan had been for CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss to oversee editorial operations across CBS News and CNN, though the newsletter noted that the strategy may have shifted after recent turmoil at CBS News.

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The New York Times reported last week that Ellison and his deputies are considering whether to put Weiss in charge of CNN while pairing her with a veteran television executive to oversee operations and finances for the combined news organizations.

The Times also reported that Anderson Cooper has privately told colleagues he does not want to work for Weiss if she is placed in charge of CNN. CNN chief executive Mark Thompson has reportedly told Paramount officials he will not share oversight of the network with another executive, while Jake Tapper recently met privately with Ellison in Los Angeles.

Kara Swisher says she’ll exit CNN if ‘incompetent’ Paramount Skydance execs takes over

Technology journalist Kara Swisher has already said she will stop working with CNN once the merger closes, while other journalists are privately considering whether to remain at the network, Status reported.

Updated to include reference to reports that Reid will join MS NOW after leaving CNN. Neither move has been confirmed as of this writing, however.