NEWSKara Swisher's CNN Ultimatum Sparks 'MAGA Makeover' Fears Across Media
Kara Swisher warned she could leave CNN over ownership concerns.
March 28 2026, Published 7:29 a.m. ET
Kara Swisher isn’t mincing words about the future of CNN, and she’s making it clear she’s willing to walk.
At a recent Syracuse University event, the veteran tech journalist and CNN contributor drew a hard line over a potential sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to David Ellison’s Paramount, warning she would leave the network rather than stay through what critics are calling a possible “MAGA makeover.”
A Line in the Sand
She criticized possible control linked to David Ellison.
“I don’t see how,” she said when questioned about staying under new ownership. “I don’t think they’ll be good owners. I don’t. I think they’ve already shown several times, including editorial choices… that they have no interest in journalism. And I refuse to work for an organization that doesn’t respect journalists.”
Despite the upcoming debut of her new CNN show Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever in April, she indicated she has little to lose by walking away.
“I created my own media organization where I make a lot of money, so I don’t have to,” Swisher explained. “So for me to stand up and say ‘I’m not working for you hacks, I’m just not doing it’ and it’s not worth it to me.”
Billionaires and the ‘MAGA Makeover’ Fear
She raised fears of editorial change under new leadership.
When professor Margaret Talev pointed out the various pressures on the media industry, including “technology, by AI, by the splintering because of social media,” Swisher pointedly interjected: “By the purchasing of media by technology billionaires.”
“Do you understand what they’re doing?” Swisher asked. Turning to address former CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane, who left the network after its acquisition by Larry Ellison’s son David, she said, “good move.”
“You don’t wanna work for the Ellisons,” she snubbed. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Larry Ellison, and he’s a terrible person.”
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CNN at a Crossroads
CNN’s uncertain future fueled emerging changes.
The potential sale is still months away, but signs of change are already emerging at CNN. Anchors like Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper have begun experimenting with more informal, podcast-style programming, while layoffs loom across the network.
Swisher’s ultimatum lands at a particularly sensitive moment, as CNN promotes Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever.
Ready to 'Wander'
The veteran reporter said journalism remained her priority.
Unlike many network personalities, Swisher suggested she has options if CNN’s direction changes. Besides already hosting the “On With Kara Swisher” podcast through Vox Media, she also suggested she could go to CNN competitor MS Now if she wanted a cable news platform.
“And so it just doesn’t hurt me because I can wander over to MS,” she said. “I can wander anywhere else.”
