David Ellison, CEO of Skydance, has engaged in early and formal discussions to acquire The Free Press, an online media company co-founded by journalist Bari Weiss. Weiss is reportedly seeking a valuation between $200 million and $250 million for her three-year-old startup. Ellison, who is also the incoming owner of CBS News through Skydance's pending $8.4 billion acquisition of Paramount Global, has met with Weiss and her legal team to explore a potential deal. Concurrently, Skydance is actively pursuing regulatory approval for the Paramount merger, having met with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr and other officials. In these meetings, Ellison pledged that CBS News coverage would reflect varied ideological perspectives and announced plans to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at CBS News. Skydance has committed to appointing an ombudsman to review complaints of bias and conducting a comprehensive review of CBS following the merger. The FCC has yet to indicate whether these commitments have brought the merger closer to approval, but Ellison expects regulatory clearance by mid-August. The deal would mark a significant shift in CBS News' editorial oversight and operational policies under Skydance's ownership.