Ari Melber reacts as MAGA ally poised to buy CNN: 'What Donald Trump wanted' - MS NOW
Ari Melber discussed the potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance, which would include CNN, and suggested this aligns with the interests of Donald Trump and MAGA allies. He noted that Paramount's leadership, including Trump donor and CEO David Ellison, has made moves that favor conservative influence, raising concerns that CNN could face increased politicization similar to changes at CBS. Critics worry that this could threaten CNN’s critical coverage of Trump and his allies.
On Thursday, Netflix dropped out of the monthslong bidding war to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, paving the way for Paramount Skydance to take over the media giant. Under Paramount’s bid, the company would purchase the entire Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio, including HBO and CNN.
MS NOW’s Ari Melber reacted to Paramount’s apparent victory on Thursday’s “The Beat” and explained why this is the outcome that “Donald Trump and many MAGA allies view as favorable.”
“This is something that Donald Trump wanted,” Melber said.
Paramount CEO David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, is a billionaire tech entrepreneur, co-founder of Oracle and a major Trump donor.
When David Ellison took control of CBS last August, he made major changes to the network’s news division, tamping down on what he considered a liberal bias at the network and tapping commentator Bari Weiss to run the operation.
Under David Ellison’s leadership, the network also cancelled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” days after the host and comedian publicly criticized Paramount’s decision to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump against its long-running news program “60 Minutes.”
“I want to put this in plain English,” Melber said, “The folks that Colbert has been fighting with, the folks who have been gutting, according to many long-time independent journalists, what CBS and ‘60 Minutes’ means, tonight, new as of the last five minutes, they’re going to get control of the Warner Bros. media empire, including CNN.”
Critics of the deal, as Melber explained, are now worried CNN, a network that often showcases critical coverage of the president, could “get the CBS treatment.” Defenders of Paramount’s move have argued that this is simply “what the market wanted.”
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