John Oliver isn’t happy about the fact that he needs a new “business daddy.” The British satirist attacked David Ellison, Hollywood’s ultrarich nepobaby, on Last Week Tonight. Ellison has taken risks that may influence American journalism and Oliver’s own network, HBO. Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, paid $150 million to take over Bari Weiss’s The Free Press. He went on to appoint Weiss as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. Yes, CBS News, the network that developed 60 Minutes and Walter Cronkite.
John Oliver spent the better part of Sunday night’s show analyzing what he defined as a situation that “isn’t ideal.” He wondered how a journalist known for her “anti-woke” and controversial op-eds came to be in command of one of America’s most reputable broadcast networks. The host of Last Week Tonight cited two Free Press articles about malnourished children in Gaza and a denied whistleblower story about trans families that, in his humble opinion, would not stand up to even the most basic fact-checking.
John Oliver said,
“We wouldn’t even have done this story were it not for the fact that Bari Weiss has just been named editor-in-chief of CBS News.”
He then shared that Ellison is not only revamping CBS, but he is also reportedly thinking about a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which also holds CNN and HBO. Oliver’s best uh-oh face appears. John Oliver joked, “If what he likes about Bari is that she forces him to have hard conversations that get a bit uncomfortable, maybe he’ll like this?”
Ellison sees this as an empire on the rise and not just one network. He became the youngest media mogul-in-chief when he took over as chairman and CEO of the newly formed Paramount Skydance when Skydance’s merger with Paramount earlier this year. Though critics are already angry, the goal is to make news “balanced and fact-based,” per Fortune.
John Oliver on Paramount Skydance handing Bari Weiss the keys to CBS News: “Weiss will now be setting the editorial strategy, vision, and focus for CBS Morning, CBS Evening News, Face the Nation, and even 60 Minutes.”
Weiss will report “directly to David Ellison,” not the CBS… pic.twitter.com/e4nmi5U7lP
— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) October 13, 2025
Ellison’s goal is to bring “mainstream Americans,” or those fed up with heated politics, back to the table. That goal is backed by his pick of Weiss, who is renowned for opposing “woke culture” and leaning toward what they call centrism.
Both Ellison and Weiss stood for bridging differences, but some believe that this is more about reinventing conservatism as logic than it is about finding a balance. Dan Rather and other veterans are worried. Before shifts in the newsroom, Weiss is said to be getting to know it now. What he means is that he needs to be careful of Cronkite’s legacy. Ellison is still sure that Weiss will “invigorate CBS News,” but will that result in outrage clicks or ratings? Though given the news cycle, those two might be the same!
As usual, John Oliver’s rant wasn’t limited to a single individual or employee. Billionaires are hoarding newsrooms as if they were expensive NFTs. Ellison is just the newest billionaire kid who’s bought a megaphone and calls it journalism, who follows in the footsteps of Jeff Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post and Patrick Soon-Shiong’s control of The L.A. Times.
John Oliver warns that the sense of choice will begin to decline when “[every] outlet [is] under some billionaire’s influence.” His plea? Keep an eye on the small changes, such as who is let go, which stories disappear, and what sort of “balance” begins to take over the media. Because, as Oliver stated, Last Week Tonight might wind up airing on a network owned by the very billionaire he just mocked on air if Ellison’s Paramount business goes on to buy Warner Bros. Discovery!
