David Ellison Aims to Rebuild Trust in News Through The Free Press Acquisition

For months, it was one of the worst-kept secrets in media circles: Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison was angling to buy The Free Press, the provocative digital outlet founded by a culture warrior who left The New York Times over what she viewed as its anti-conservative groupthink. Yesterday (Oct. 9), just four days after Paramount Skydance confirmed its $150 million acquisition of The Free Press, Ellison finally explained his reasoning in detail at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles.

He described the deal—which also includes naming Free Press founder Bari Weiss the first-ever editor-in-chief of CBS News, the crown jewel of Paramount’s media holdings—as a cornerstone of his plan to rebuild trust in journalism and connect with audiences “where they are.” That means a mix of broadcast, digital and direct-to-consumer platforms aimed at the roughly 70 percent of Americans he believes fall between the ideological extremes.

“Our goal in news is to become the most trusted destination in news media,” Ellison said. “Civil discourse that currently exists is not in a great place. We basically believe in all the things The Free Press believed in—speaking to the 70 percent of the audience that identifies themselves as center-left to center-right. We believe in the open exchange of ideas, and then fundamentally presenting both sides and allowing the audience to ultimately make their determination about how they feel about it. But they’re presented with the facts.”

Ellison praised the heritage of CBS News and 60 Minutes but said the network lacks a cohesive digital strategy—one reason The Free Press became central to the deal. He said Weiss’s publication would continue to operate online while helping Paramount expand across formats such as broadcast, podcasts and eventually a direct-to-consumer platform that unites them all.

Ellison also used the conference to outline a broader vision for Paramount Skydance as a company built for reinvention. He pointed to its 80 million streaming subscribers and what he called “one of the best content libraries in existence.” He drew a distinction between CBS’s broadcast business and the broader decline of linear TV, calling CBS “a remarkable asset that’s been number one in primetime for 17 straight seasons,” one that remains profitable and buoyed by sports rights.

In addition to the Free Press deal, Paramount Skydance has also secured high-profile partnerships in recent weeks with the UFC, Activision’s Call of Duty and filmmaker James Mangold. Ellison called the acquisition of UFC rights a key piece of a “year-long sports strategy” that complements CBS’s existing portfolio of the NFL, March Madness and The Masters.

Pressed about consolidation rumors, particularly speculation over a possible Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Ellison declined to comment. But he emphasized that any acquisition would be guided by storytelling, talent relationships and shareholder value. “Consumers don’t love going to seven different apps,” he said, arguing that any deal would need to produce “more content, not less,” and create something better for audiences.

Ellison is the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who was briefly the world’s richest person recently, thanks to Oracle’s surging stock. When asked about family dynamics, the Paramount Skydance CEO described their relationship as “phenomenal,” calling Larry Ellison a mentor with an unmatched record of value creation. “He’s the largest shareholder [in Paramount Skydance], but I run the company day-to-day,” Ellison said.

Ellison closed his onstage talk by reflecting on the passion that started it all. “I fell in love with movies as a kid. My mom and I would go to the movies every single weekend. We went 52 weeks a year and just saw anything that was playing,” he said. “I have always loved and believed in this business. I love storytelling. I believe in the value of entertainment and media and what these stories mean, and it’s a privilege to get to tell them in our culture.”