EXCLUSIVE: CNN Anchor Kara Swisher 'Plans Exit Amid Network Takeover'
CNN anchor Kara Swisher allegedly plans to quit the network amid a takeover, according to a report.
Oct. 16 2026, Published 6:15 a.m. ET
CNN's Kara Swisher is eyeing the door as Paramount takes over the network's owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, in what critics are calling the latest crisis for the ratings-challenged news channel, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Swisher, 63, revealed her intention to flee what some have seen as a sinking ship on her Pivot podcast, griping to co-host Scott Galloway that there is no way she could work for the new bosses, which include Paramount CEO David Ellison.
Kara Swisher Seeks Exit From CNN Contract
Kara Swisher said she asked her agent to get her out of her CNN contract.
"I was trying to figure out ways I could work with them in some, like, licensing way. But then I thought, f--k these guys. I don't want to work for them. I just don't," Swisher fumed.
"I was just literally reading my contract today, as you might imagine," said Swisher, who's been a CNN contributor since 2023. "I have asked my agent to get me out of my contract. It ends December 31st."
In 2025, David and his father, Larry Ellison, merged their Skydance Media with Paramount, which put CBS News under their control, and Ellison promptly put Bari Weiss at the helm of CBS News.
Weiss – current partner of Swisher's ex Nellie Bowles – has since made major changes to the news division, including the storied 60 Minutes.
Swisher Refuses to Stay at CNN Despite Executives' Pleas
Scott Galloway suggested CNN might let Swisher leave early.
Meanwhile, sources have said ironfisted bosses at CNN are h----bent on ruthless money-saving cuts after a ratings implosion of epic proportions, which has left even star staffers fearing the ax.
When Galloway suggested to Swisher that CNN might let her go early, she replied: "No, they've been trying to keep me. Very nicely been trying to keep me, and I have a lot of regard for the executives there now... [but] I am not staying. I have other things that make more money, that matter more, that have a bigger audience."
Swisher Blasts Ellisons as ‘Terrible Media Owners’
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Swisher said Rupert Murdoch would be preferable to the Ellisons as an employer.
In addition to hosting and producing Pivot, the newsgal is editor-at-large at New York Magazine, host of the On With Kara Swisher interview podcast and does live touring and events.
Calling the Ellisons "terrible media owners," Swisher cited Fox News' founder as she declared: "I'd rather work for Rupert Murdoch."
