According to a report from Semafor on Wednesday, Paramount CEO David Ellison has considered inviting Elon Musk into the group of investors bankrolling Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Musk is one of several deep-pocketed names on Ellison's list, and nobody knows yet how big a slice he'd take. But any slice at all would hand the man the left loves to hate a piece of both CNN and CBS News. You can almost hear the fainting couches creaking.

And as soon as the news hit, the freakout began.

Inside CNN, staffers were already bracing for layoffs and fretting over who will run the network once Ellison takes over, sources told The New York Post, and the Musk report only fed that dread.

One CNN source couldn't resist pointing out the timing and took a swipe at Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), who backed the merger because he feared Paramount would leave the state and take thousands of jobs with it. "Amazing it comes out now, of course," the source said. "Not good for Gavin!"

Former CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta apparently couldn't find any words at all:

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It's easy to see why the newsroom is sweating. Larry Ellison, David's father, already holds a major stake in CBS and Paramount and counts President Trump as a friend and ally. David Ellison reportedly sat down with Trump at the White House earlier this year.

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And, as the Post notes, there’s precedent to suggest that CNN should expect significant changes after the merger.

At CBS News, Bari Weiss – who was made editor-in-chief by David after his company Skydance acquired Paramount – has faced serious blowback for axing longtime “60 Minutes” correspondents and her oversight of newsroom coverage.

Larry Ellison has supported Musk – the world’s richest person – throughout his many business endeavors, investing $1 billion in his takeover of X, formerly known as Twitter, and serving on Tesla’s board of directors for years.

An investment from Musk could help boost the image of the newly-combined company in the eyes of investors, since the South African billionaire has a dedicated investor following.

And it gets better. Under its settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Paramount agreed to set up independent editorial boards for CBS News and CNN, though the company hasn't explained what authority those boards will actually have. Now picture Musk with a seat on one of them. Better yet, both. I'd pay good money to see the faces around the table at that first meeting. And I'd love to see him walk into CNN's headquarters with a sink.

CNN has spent the better part of a decade operating as a far-left propaganda outlet. Musk spent $44 billion to buy Twitter because he believed legacy media gatekeepers had too much power over what Americans could see and say. If even a sliver of that attitude makes it into CNN's newsroom, the network could finally be dragged toward something resembling balance.

Grab the popcorn, because this is going to be a blast to watch.