CNN Reporter Paula Reid Exits for MS NOW Amid Concerns Over Paramount-Skydance Takeover

Paula Reid, a prominent CNN journalist, has declined to renew her contract at the network and is set to join MS NOW, according to a Variety report published Wednesday, with sources telling the publication that concerns about CNN's looming acquisition by Paramount Skydance were a central factor. The move signals an accelerating talent exodus at CNN as the prospect of new ownership reshapes editorial expectations and staff calculations across the organization.

Ellison Takeover and the Bari Weiss Question

Variety reported that Reid's decision was shaped in part by the perception that CNN's next era appears chaotic. At the heart of those concerns is the possibility that Paramount CEO David Ellison, upon assuming control of CNN, would install Bari Weiss — currently editor-in-chief of CBS News — as the network's next leader. Weiss has generated several public controversies since taking that role, and her potential elevation to the top of CNN has unsettled staff inside the organization.

Reid joined CNN in 2021, having previously served as a White House correspondent for CBS News. Neither MS NOW nor CNN confirmed the departure to Fox News Digital. An MS NOW spokesperson, citing the network's general practice of not commenting on personnel matters, described Reid as "an exceptional reporter" and said any organization would be "fortunate to showcase her journalism." CNN declined to comment.

A Broader Staff Reckoning

Reid's departure follows a pattern that CNN insiders have been warning about for months. CNN journalist Kara Swisher said in March that she would leave the network if Ellison took charge. Veteran correspondent Christiane Amanpour said in May she was "concerned" about the incoming leadership, citing what she described as the hollowing out of CBS News under the current ownership — including what she called viewer losses, probable financial deterioration, an ideological realignment, and the potential destruction of "60 Minutes."

A Fox News Digital report from February found morale inside CNN to be, in the words of one insider, "horrific." Staff identified two primary fears: job loss and editorial indifference, with job loss described as the clearly dominant concern. The prospect of a structural merger between CBS News and CNN has been characterized internally as a potential "bloodbath."

CNN Leadership Holds Its Position

CNN chief Mark Thompson has stated that he remains "really committed" to the network despite the pending transition. Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's current parent, has been preparing to sell its assets to Paramount, though the precise editorial and structural shape of CNN under Ellison's stewardship has yet to be determined. For staff weighing contract renewals, that uncertainty appears to be its own answer.