“So who is singing first?” A boy band this isn’t, but it is the senior leadership team of Paramount Skydance. From L-R Jeff Shell on electric guitar, Gerry Cardinale on bass guitar, David Ellison lead singer, George Cheeks on the drums, and Andy Gordon on the keyboard.
Welcome to the latest edition of Breaker. If this email has been forwarded, you can subscribe here and send your questions and complaints here. If you have a tip contact the 24/7 Breaker Tip Hotline via text or Signal # 551 655 2343. Anonymity guaranteed!
In tonight’s edition, on the day that Skydance's $8 billion merger with Paramount finally closed, newly minted CEO David Ellison and his senior management team met with a murderers' row of media reporters in New York. How did Ellison respond to Breaker’s question about reports of his talks with Bari Weiss about acquiring The Free Press? Find out below.
Also tonight, the strange (and sudden) departure of The New York Post’s HR chief and why a senior executive at Blackstone called Post Editor in Chief Keith Poole in a rage.
Plus, the latest in POLITICO and PEN Guild’s bitter battle over the use of AI at the Axel Springer outlet.
Finally tonight, an embarrassing correction from Tuesday's column – and due punishment for Lachlan.
Mentioned tonight: David Ellison, Bari Weiss, Jeff Shell, George Cheeks, Gerry Cardinale, Andy Gordon, Sudeep Reddy, Chris Cuomo, Keith Poole, Nick Papps, Ruth Allen, Douglas Murray, Charlie Gasparino, Ben Smith, Kara Swisher Alexandra Steigrad, Claire Atkinson, Stephen Battaglio, Sean McNulty, Brian Steinberg, Ted Johnson, Brian Stelter, Oliver Darcy, John Koblin, Ben Mullin, Alex Sherman, Peter Kafka, Natalie Korach, Jessica Toonkel, Alex Weprin, Sara Fischer, and more.
Ellison’s Big Day Out
On Thursday morning, Breaker caught the D train from our downtown bureau to Bryant Park and made a short walk over to the Paramount building in Times Square.
Ellison had earlier in the day met with the staff of CBS News and 60 Minutes. “It couldn’t have gone over better,” a person present told us.
The son of Oracle co-founder, Larry Ellison, was joined on stage by President Jeff Shell, RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale, Chairman of TV Media George Cheeks, and COO Andy Gordon.
“Moving forward, we will work with conviction and optimism to transform Paramount into a tech-forward company that blends the creative heart of Hollywood with the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley,” Ellison told the press pack.
One of the most insightful remarks of the briefing came from Cardinale, who recently purchased the UK’s Telegraph (and as Breaker first reported, is set to buy Graydon Carter’s Air Mail) and knows what it is like to face down inquisitive hacks who are not easily spun.
Following several questions relating to the editorial independence of CBS News and 60 Minutes, Cardinale made a point that will make journalists at both the Telegraph and CBS News somewhat relieved, he said…
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