Bari Weiss speaks at a CBS News town hall. (Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty Images)

In August, David Ellison and the new executive team for Paramount held a press conference with media reporters as the Skydance acquisition closed, where Status’ own Oliver Darcy pointedly asked whether executives would “commit to not meddling or interfering in any way with ‘60 Minutes.’” Ellison refused to directly answer his inquiries about the editorial independence of CBS News, though investor Gerry Cardinale insisted that interference in editorial programming would be “bad business.”

On Sunday, those concerns regarding CBS News’ editorial direction became tangible, as Bari Weiss, Ellison’s hand-picked editor-in-chief, pulled a “60 Minutes” investigation into conditions at El Salvador’s CECOT prison, the notorious facility where the Trump administration has deported migrants, just hours before it was slated to air. The decision triggered internal outrage, scathing outside criticism and accusations of political interference as the Ellisons seek to gain an advantage in their hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Perhaps foremost, the move shook the CBS newsroom, transforming a theoretical fear about top-down meddling into a real-life crisis.

Weiss addressed the situation during the network’s daily 9 a.m. editorial call on Monday, framing her decision as…

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison sits with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

  • Larry Ellison, the billionaire Oracle co-founder and Donald Trump ally, is upping the ante with Paramount’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, personally guaranteeing $40 billion in financing. [CNBC]

  • SAG-AFTRA “is building a war room to oppose” Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. and is considering a possible strike when its existing contract expires next year, James Franey reported. [NYPost]

  • The Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government voted to shut down the country’s Army Radio after 75 years on the air, alleging that has been used to “attack the IDF.” [Reuters]

    • The Israeli Union of Journalists slammed the move, saying: "They want an obedient media, they don't want critical media.”

  • Google, Apple, and Microsoft warned employees with visas not to leave the U.S. due to “significant” return delays of up to a year. [Business Insider]

  • The late Rob and Michele Reiner’s children Jake and Romy said they are working on a memorial for the couple. [LAT]

  • Meta’s X rival Threads is planning a new feature allowing podcasters to upload snippets to the platform, Ashley Carman reported. [Bloomberg]

  • OpenAI rolled out “Your Year with ChatGPT,” a Spotify Wrapped-like annual review feature, to users in the U.S. and elsewhere. [TechCrunch]

  • Jimmy Kimmel will deliver the U.K.’s “Alternative Christmas Message” on Channel 4. “From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year,” Kimmel will say. [LateNighter]

  • Barry Manilow revealed he has lung cancer. [CNN]

  • Ahead of its planned split from Warner Bros., Discovery Global named Gap veteran Adrienne O’Hara chief communications officer. [Deadline]

  • Universal Pictures released the first trailer for Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated epic “The Odyssey.” [YouTube]

  • RIP: Vince Zampella, the co-creator of the video game franchise “Call of Duty” died in a car crash near L.A. He was 55. [Variety]