• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, 8 hours ago

The recent announcement that CNN Chairman and Editor in Chief Mark Thompson will stay on the job gives the impression that the future will be smooth sailing for the cable news channel as it gets absorbed into the newly christened Skydance Corp.

Skydance is the official name of the new company formed by the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal closed earlier this week. 

Thompson put out a cheerful memo to CNN staff (that somehow got leaked!) about his excitement, etc. “They’ve seen our digital strategy and are as excited about it as we are,” Thompson said of Skydance top management, mentioning only one person -- co-CEO David Ellison.

“Having now spoken to them at length on 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,” he stated confidently.

Indeed, after the merger was complete, Ellison himself pledged to “never interfere” with CNN. Yes, he said “never.”

“We believe in editorial independence,” Ellison said of CNN, echoing Thompson’s characterization of CNN as “independent news.”

Clearly, October 6 -- the day the deal closed -- is seen at Skydance and CNN as Independence Day for CNN: its very own Fourth of July.

Hmm. I’m trying to remember what happened at CBS News when Skydance took over Paramount. 

Oh! I remember! Total chaos ensued. Top management resigned. Top anchors and correspondents quit or were fired. 

To add insult to injury, the new editor in chief of CBS News -- internet firebrand Bari Weiss -- vowed to “blow up” the whole operation. She very nearly succeeded.

Much, if not all, of that had to do with efforts to placate President Trump, who sicced his FCC on the company because he took issue with the editorial points of view of CBS News, mainly with regard to himself.

Skydance wanted to close the WBD deal and Trump was gumming up the works. Now that the deal has closed, Thompson and Ellison have issued their own declarations of independence.

However, the TV Blog has been around long enough to not be surprised when someone in the news business, or the TV business in general, vows to never do something and then does it.

There’s a lesson in here somewhere. Oh, yes, here it is: Never say never.