Former CBS anchor Connie Chung has issued a stark warning: the imminent merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media could dismantle the network’s legacy of independent, fact‑based journalism. Chung voiced her concern that CBS News—once autonomous and free from political or corporate pressure—may soon become beholden to corporate agendas and lose its editorial integrity.
She lamented that CBS has historically operated independently and without undue influence from politicians or “bean counters.” Now, she sees those days fading, replaced by a media landscape increasingly driven by financial motivations rather than journalistic standards. Chung criticized Paramount’s $16 million legal settlement with former President Trump and its abrupt cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as troubling signs in the lead-up to the merger.
Chung singled out Paramount’s controlling stakeholders—namely Skydance CEO David Ellison and his parent company—as key to reshaping CBS’s editorial direction. She suggested such decisions betray the First Amendment and the tradition upheld by past network leaders who championed journalistic autonomy.