David Zaslav Has Warm First Meeting With CNN D.C. Bureau, Praises Network’s Ukraine Coverage

Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for Discovery.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav kicked off his cross-country tour of the sprawling media behemoth he now leads on Monday, and reports so far indicate it’s going pretty well.

The merger that closed on Friday brought WarnerMedia (HBO, CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, and the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA with its iconic logo water tower) and Discovery (Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and TLC, and its own streaming service, Discovery+) all under the same corporate umbrella, and there has been widespread speculation about how the new company will fare in this rapidly changing and competitive media environment.

Monday was the first day of Warner Bros. Discovery’s official existence, now trading on the NASDAQ index as “WBD.” Combined, the new company has roughly 36,000 employees working on production and distribution of some of the world’s best-known movie, television, and entertainment content.

As Mediaite reported on Sunday, Zaslav’s planned itinerary was to start with the WarnerMedia global headquarters in New York City on Monday, CNN’s D.C. bureau Monday evening, the Warner Bros. Atlanta office on Tuesday, WarnerMedia/HBO offices in Culver City, Calif. on Wednesday, and then a town hall at the WarnerMedia offices in Burbank.

Earlier Monday, Insider reported on Zaslav’s lunch meeting at WarnerMedia in NYC, describing “[h]undreds of staff from CNN to HBO” flooding into the company’s Sky Bar cafeteria, where the offerings included pasta, sushi, and ice cream bars. A source described the employees as “crowding around Zaslav to spend a few minutes with him” before he left for D.C.

Multiple reports about the merger have mentioned employees being wary of potential layoffs; that nervousness is not unwarranted. Warner Bros. Discovery had an estimated $58 billion in debt when the sun rose this morning, and Zaslav has pledged to find $3 billion in “cost saving synergies.”

Variety reported that two sources had told them that Zaslav had conference calls with several senior staff members on Friday, and he acknowledged that there were some positions that would be redundant within the new entity. There would be some layoffs, but he did not share specific plans.

Still, Zaslav’s comments to the CNN staff in NYC seemed to provide at least some reassurance, according to Insider’s source. The CEO addressed the CNN newsroom before lunch, and reportedly described the network as a “reputational asset,” specifically highlighting its national and international journalism as “paramount.” CNN’s ongoing coverage of the war in Ukraine was singled out for specific praise.

The D.C. meeting seemed to follow a similarly positive tone, according to a CNN insider who shared with Mediaite some details of Zaslav’s visit with the anchors, reporters, and other CNN staff in the nation’s capital.

Zaslav was accompanied by COO David Leavy, and both of them were described as very warm in their interactions with the CNN staff. The overall mood was upbeat, and notably more laid back than a pre-merger meeting last month with then-CEO of WarnerMedia Jason Kilar. (Kilar confirmed last week that he was stepping down, an expected transition for the merger.)

The general mood was friendly, and “no fireworks,” said our source, who added that Zaslav spoke first and then new CNN head Chris Licht, tapped to take over after Jeff Zucker’s shock ouster, addressed the crowd. Both said they were happy to be there and looking forward to working with the team in D.C.

The two Discovery executives then mingled with the gathered staffers. Zaslav was described as repeatedly praising CNN’s Ukraine coverage in his conversations with various anchors and correspondents.

As Mediaite has noted in our ongoing coverage of the cable news ratings, Fox News continues to dominate, but the war in Ukraine has also driven a ratings surge in February for CNN, as well as critical praise from a variety of media observers.

Some wariness still remains in the CNN newsroom, however, with our source opining that the network’s Ukraine coverage had made an indelible impression on their new corporate bosses, but a lingering feeling that it was just too soon to tell.