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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

CNN's corporate boss David Zaslav wants network for 'Republicans, Democrats' as ratings sink

2022-07-08

[NYPOST] Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
is renewing its focus on "journalism" — signaling he wants the scandal-scarred, left-leaning network to eventually deliver straight news that also appeals to conservatives.

The CEO, whose company owns CNN, Warner Bros., HBO, Animal Planet and TLC, told news hounds at Allen & Co.’s "summer camp for billionaires" in Sun Valley, Idaho, that CNN’s new approach will pay off in the long term, even as ratings sink to historic lows.

"Journalism first. America needs a news network where everybody can come and be heard; Republicans, Democrats," Zaslav said. "I think you’re seeing more of that at CNN. We’re not going to look at the ratings and, in the long run, it’s going to be worth more."

Zaslav, who took the helm of Discovery and WarnerMedia after it merged to form Warner Bros. Discovery in April, hired Chris Licht as head of CNN, following the ouster of Jeff Zucker earlier this year. His mandate for Licht, a former executive producer of CBS’s "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," was to get rid of the sensational, partisan, Trump-focused coverage made popular under Zucker.

Seriously? He took a small time exec producer of a small fake news show and gave him.... oh wait — it’s CNN, which is much the same..

Never mind.

"I think Chris is doing a great job pivoting CNN," Zaslav told Variety.

Under Licht, CNN has dialed back using the "breaking news" banner on its reports in order to shift away from opinion-based programming. But one well-placed source told The Post that the ratings have taken a hit due in part to removing such "sensational" and "delicious" details that have become commonplace in cable news.

"The problem is we are not a neutral country," the source said. "The ratings are getting worse because they are taking out all the bells and whistles. CNN’s ratings are as bad as local news ratings."

"New management is not freaking out but everyone else at CNN is," the source added. "They want to fix the shows first, but they don’t realize the shows and ratings are connected."

Posted by:Fred

#4 This guy probably thinks Jen Rubin, Chris Wallace and Lincoln Project are real Republicans

Posted by: Airandee 2022-07-08 21:11

#3 Stephen Colbert's former producer is going to be 'unbiased' ... ROFL

Posted by: magpie 2022-07-08 10:56

#2 Horse, barn door.

Posted by: Procopius2k 2022-07-08 08:55

#1 Journalism doesn't need to make a profit. It is a loss leader for filthy powerful people to deliver their version of reality, full of whatever it benefits them for us to believe.

Leftists demand that the media lie to them. They love it. How many believed so hard in the "Ghost of Keev" lie? How many said it shouldn't have been exposed as a fraud?

Posted by: Albemarle Snerert7268 2022-07-08 01:01

00:00