CBS News staffers say they're "cautiously optimistic" about their future under new Paramount CEO David Ellison, who made their office his first stop minutes after taking control of the newly-merged company.
The company, now dubbed "Paramount, a Skydance Corporation," oversees a variety of media and entertainment assets, including CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, the Paramount Plus streaming service and the iconic movie studio. Once the long-planned deal officially closed on Thursday, Ellison prioritized CBS News over the other properties.
Ellison and Paramount Chair of TV Media George Cheeks visited CBS News’ New York City headquarters, popping in for the 9 a.m. editorial meeting and then briefly meeting with CBS News executives, including newly-minted "60 Minutes" executive producer Tanya Simon.
One CBS News employee told Fox News Digital Ellison then received a quick tour of the "60 Minutes" offices and spent some time shaking staffers’ hands.
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CBS News staffers were happy to see new Paramount CEO David Ellison minutes after taking control of the newly merged company. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
"Everyone was happy he stopped by the meeting, and they made it clear it was his first stop after closing the deal. Obviously symbolic but also encouraging that he would do that," a second CBS News staffer told Fox News Digital.
"He was very complimentary of the team and said he believed in us. He was joined by George Cheeks who echoed that," the staffer continued. "They acknowledged how hard of a time the merger has been for the division, especially."
"CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King and "60 Minutes" correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Anderson Cooper all said hello to Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, during the visit.
The second CBS News insider added that everyone is "cautiously optimistic" about the new regime.
"60 Minutes" executive producer Tanya Simon met with Paramount CEO David Ellison on Thursday. (Courtesy of CBS News)
Ellison’s takeover comes after a rough stretch for the Tiffany Network’s news division.
Prior to the merger closing, Paramount and CBS agreed to settle President Donald Trump’s "election interference" lawsuit last month for a sum expected to be north of $30 million, including $16 million upfront for Trump's presidential library. The lawsuit accused CBS of aiding then-Vice President Kamala Harris through deceptive editing ahead of the presidential election.
The settlement irked many inside CBS News, but fallout from the ordeal began before the deal was reached.
In April, "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens resigned, claiming he could no longer maintain editorial independence from corporate honchos while CBS' parent company, Paramount Global, was in a months-long legal battle with the president. Owens had long insisted he would not apologize for the edit at the center of Trump’s claims.
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Paramount Chair of TV Media George Cheeks joined Paramount CEO David Ellison for a tour of CBS News on Thursday. (Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)
The following month, CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon was pushed out of the network. "It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward," she said.
The "60 Minutes" ordeal and executive departures came as CBS' morning and evening newscasts are both stuck in third place behind rivals ABC and NBC.
Ellison has not named a new, long-term head of CBS News and has refused to comment on "rumors," although employees enjoy working with current CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, who joined the company earlier this year.
Meanwhile, FCC chairman Brendan Carr has not closed the proceedings he previously opened against the network for "news distortion" in the airing of the infamous interview with Harris. Any fallout will now land on Ellison and the company’s new leadership.
Ellison published an open letter on Thursday, calling CBS News the "home to one of the most storied American broadcast journalism legacies in America, including ‘60 Minutes,’ with a long tradition of impactful reporting led by seasoned journalists committed to accuracy, integrity, and public trust."
President Trump was seeking $20 billion from CBS News and its parent company for what he alleged was election interference with how "60 Minutes" edited its interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the weeks leading up to the presidential election. A settlement was reached last month. (Left: (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images), Center: Screenshot/60Minutes, Right: (Photo by Andy Manis/Getty Images))
Ellison appeared on CNBC on Friday and continued to praise CBS News.
"When you think about the legacy of CBS News and ‘60 Minutes,’ the home of Walter Cronkite, it is a storied legacy that we intend to honor and carry forward," Ellison said.
Ellison had previously committed to installing an ombudsman at CBS News, but insisted it won’t be any sort of distraction moving forward.
"It is a vehicle for transparency, not oversight. And it basically is a way for both external and internally for people to provide feedback. And then that gets reported up to the president of Paramount, Jeff Shell. It doesn't get reported anywhere else," Ellison said.
"Our No.1 job is to entertain and inspire audiences around the world. And with respect, I don't believe that that means that they want us to inject politics into everything we do. I actually think they want the opposite," he continued. "And so from that standpoint, we just believe that if you're breathing, you're our audience and we don't intend to politicize the company."
Whether Ellison’s vision will translate into renewed confidence in CBS News remains to be seen, but his early outreach appears to have struck the right tone.