Kara Swisher vows to leave CNN if Paramount takes over network
Liberal CNN contributor Kara Swisher doubled down on her vow to leave her network if Paramount is successful with its bid to take over Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking Monday at Syracuse University's Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting celebration, Swisher decried tech billionaires like Oracle founder Larry Ellison and his son, new Paramount owner David Ellison, buying media companies.
She turned to the event's emcee, Scott MacFarlane, the former CBS News correspondent who announced earlier in the day that he had joined the far-left outlet MeidasTouch, telling him, "Good move."
"You'll love it out here. It's much better," Swisher told MacFarlane. "You don't want to work for the Ellisons. I've spent a lot of time with Larry Ellison, and he's a terrible person."
Swisher was asked by Syracuse University's Margaret Talev whether her comments from December were a "sure thing" or if she could ever find a way to stay with the network with David Ellison as her new boss.
"I don't see how," Swisher responded, adding that Paramount leaders have contacted her.
"It's interesting because they've been calling me. They've been very nice. 'Hey Kara, good show with Matt Belloni.' They're doing a lot of friendly friendly with me right now, which is like — too bad. It's not going to work. It's not going to happen for you, as I say," Swisher said.
"I don't think they'll be good owners. I don't," she continued. "I think they've already shown several times, including editorial choices, which Scott knows a lot... that they have no interest in journalism. And I refuse to work for an organization that doesn't respect journalists."
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The liberal journalist went on to say she doesn't "have to" stay at CNN since she founded her own media organization that's been lucrative.
"So for me to stand up to say, 'I'm not working for you hacks. I'm just not doing it. And it's just not worth it to me'... I do a lot better direct to consumer kind of thing," Swisher added.
Paramount did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. CNN declined comment.
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Liberals have expressed outrage over the prospects of the Ellisons, who have a cozy relationship with President Donald Trump, taking over CNN as a result of Paramount's $111 billion bid to acquire the network's parent company. The younger Ellison ruffled industry feathers when he appointed Bari Weiss as the editor-in-chief of CBS News and acquired her digital outlet The Free Press.