Ellison spoke with CBS journalists on his first day, acknowledging the stresses of the past year and touting the importance of “fact-based journalism,” a person in attendance said.

Paramount has set the base salaries for its new C-suite on the heels of Skydance closing its $8 billion acquisition of the media giant.

Meanwhile, chief operating strategy officer Andy Gordon is eligible for a minimum salary of $2.8 million and a bonus of $1.2 million. The trio have also been granted restricted stock awards, covering 5 million shares of Class B common stock for Ellison and Shell and 4 million shares for Gordon.