Paula Reid, CNN's Chief Legal Correspondent, Expected to Exit Amid the Paramount Takeover

One of CNN's best-known legal journalists is heading for the exit as the network's future ownership comes into focus.

The reported departure

Paula Reid, who joined CNN in 2021 and became its chief legal affairs correspondent in 2023, has told the network she will not renew her contract, which expires this summer, Variety and Deadline reported. Reid was offered a renewal but chose to leave, according to those reports; several outlets have described her as expressing unease about the uncertainty surrounding CNN's coming change of ownership. CNN declined to comment, and no next move for Reid has been reported. The Herald notes the departure is reported and expected rather than formally announced by the network.

Who she is

Reid, a lawyer by training, spent more than a decade at CBS News before CNN, covering the Justice Department, the Mueller investigation and the Trump White House, where she drew notice for pointed exchanges at pandemic briefings. At CNN she anchored much of the network's coverage of high-stakes legal cases involving both President Trump and former President Biden, as well as the Supreme Court. Her 2023 promotion reflected how central she had become to CNN's legal reporting.

The corporate backdrop

Her exit comes as CNN prepares for one of the biggest ownership shifts in its history. David Ellison's Paramount Skydance is acquiring CNN's parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, in a deal valued at roughly $110 billion that has cleared federal antitrust review and is expected to close later this year, though it could still face legal challenges. The prospect has unsettled CNN's newsroom: Ellison has signaled billions of dollars in cost cuts across the combined company, which employees and analysts expect to mean layoffs, and some staff have voiced concern about the network's editorial direction under new ownership. Reports of possible leadership and editorial changes — none confirmed by the company — have added to the uncertainty.

A wider squeeze

Reid is described in the reporting as the first prominent CNN on-air figure to leave specifically over the pending takeover, and industry watchers will be watching whether others follow. Her departure lands against a long contraction in cable news, where CNN, Fox News and MSNBC have all cut staff and reworked formats as audiences migrate from linear television to streaming. How quickly Paramount sets its priorities for CNN, once the deal closes, may determine how many more journalists decide to move on.