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Paula Reid is reportedly leaving CNN for MS NOW amid Paramount deal

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CNN correspondent Paula Reid is leaving the network for MS NOW due to concerns about Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of the network, Variety reported Wednesday.

“Reid turned down the chance to renew his current contract at CNN in part because CNN’s next term looked chaotic, according to two people familiar with the situation.” Variety reported.

The article stated that Reid’s decision stemmed from concerns about Paramount CEO David Ellison taking over the network and potentially installing CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss as head of CNN.

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CNN legal correspondent Paula Reid is reportedly leaving the network for MS NOW. (Taylor Hill/WireImage via Getty Images)

According to Variety, “Paramount has given some indication that it is considering Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News, who has sparked some public controversy, as the next head of CNN.”

Reid first joined CNN in 2021 after previously working as a White House correspondent for CBS News.

Neither MS NOW nor CNN confirmed the news to Fox News Digital.

“As a general practice, we do not comment on personnel matters,” an MS NOW spokesperson said in a statement. “As everyone in Washington knows, Paula Reid is an outstanding reporter, and any news organization would be lucky to showcase her journalism.”

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CNN declined to comment.

A report from Fox News Digital in February suggested that parent company Warner Bros. He revealed that the mood at CNN was “horrible” as Discovery prepared to sell all its assets to Paramount. In the report, a CNN insider suggested the possibility of talent fleeing CNN before the Ellison takeover if they could afford it.

CNN staffers and journalists have expressed concern about the potential for Paramount owner David Ellison to name CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss to head the network. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images; James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images for Free Press)

A second insider said the two main concerns were “loss of business” and “apathy from editors,” noting that the former had “vastly outpaced” the latter. CNN employees in particular were concerned about a potential “bloodbath” if CBS News merged with CNN.

Other CNN personalities also publicly condemned the merger. CNN correspondent Kara Swisher had previously promised to leave the network if Ellison took office in March.

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Veteran CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour said she felt “concerned” about new leadership in May, pointing to past issues with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” anchors.

“I’m worried about what happens to the other things it’s already taken over, like CBS News, right?” Amanpour said. “I mean, do I even need to list what’s going on there? I mean, the hemorrhage of viewers, possibly the hemorrhage of money, the ideological realignment of CBS, and potentially the destruction of ’60 Minutes.’