Paula Reid Joins MS NOW After Rejecting CNN Renewal as Paramount Skydance Deal Clouds Network
Updated
Updated · Variety · Jul 1
Paula Reid Joins MS NOW After Rejecting CNN Renewal as Paramount Skydance Deal Clouds Network
3 articles · Updated · Variety · Jul 1
Summary
Paula Reid is expected to take on new duties at MS NOW, giving the legal-affairs journalist a landing spot after deciding to leave CNN this summer.
Two people familiar with the matter said Reid declined to renew at CNN partly because Warner Bros. Discovery’s sale to Paramount Skydance has made the network’s next phase look unstable and chaotic.
Paramount has signaled interest in Bari Weiss as a possible CNN steward, a prospect that has unsettled CNN journalists as Weiss’s tenure at CBS News has brought controversy, staff upheaval and ratings erosion at key programs.
The proposed acquisition has already cleared the U.S. Justice Department but still faces British scrutiny and possible state legal challenges, while one analyst warned Paramount’s posture toward Donald Trump could accelerate talent departures.
MS NOW has been leaning harder into enterprise and straight-news coverage under president Rebecca Kutler, making Reid — a prominent Supreme Court and investigations reporter since joining CNN in 2021 — a notable fit.