Who would think the story of a giant corporate merger would tie into the media’s disastrous Iran coverage?
It does. I explain in the new episode.
Recently, Skydance took over CBS. (The company is officially called Paramount, a Skydance Corporation.) Now, it seems poised to take over Warner Bros. Discovery as well, which includes CNN.
Big legacy media is rushing to claim that CNN will take some sort of right-wing, pro-Trump turn. Lots of stories argue this. A listener sent me one from Variety, which summarizes the media’s willful blindness. The headline includes a premise so detached from reality that I gave it a facepalm:
The tale the media is telling goes like this. Larry and David Ellison, owners of Skydance, changed CBS News to placate Trump. Now, watch out, they’ll do the same to CNN.
There’s a lot wrong with this. As I’ve reported, the media’s “sky is falling” scenarios for CBS keep being disproven. The network did not ‘kill’ a story about a hellish prison camp in El Salvador. Stephen Colbert was not prevented from interviewing Texas Democrat James Talarico. And just a couple of weeks ago, I played you a CBS News report stating, accurately, that Trump is still pushing “debunked claims that the 2020 election was rigged.”
Meanwhile, CBS was already a disaster under its previous owners. Its long record of recent failures include punishing an anchor for attempting to do actual journalism and taking guidance from Russia on how to conduct an interview.
None of the media freaking out about CBS’ new changes has ever spoken out against its record of journalistic failures before the Ellisons came along. (I’ve also explained that the Ellisons don’t have histories of supporting Trump’s campaigns, but have absolutely tried to make nice to him since he won in 2024.)
That brings us to CNN, my old stomping grounds. The Variety story says CNNers are oh so worried about their journalism. But CNN’s record over just the last couple of years alone includes lying in favor of Iran, presenting a torturer as a freed prisoner, and using a “fact check” to invent a bonkers lie about Israel.
Meanwhile, the network lets Trump officials spew falsehoods all they want. In last week’s episode, I discussed how CNN allowed Trump to turn a “town hall” into a lie-fest.
It’s worth noting that Variety is part of Penske Media, a corporate giant I’ve reported on. It’s valued at more than $1 billion, and uses its entities to push big lies of the left.
The solution to all this has nothing to do with right versus left. It’s about getting the facts straight.
That’s what They Stand Corrected is here for. And in an era of corporate musical chairs, I’m committed to keeping it open for you.
Supporters: Share thoughts and questions in the comments or here:
JL
P.S. ICYMI:
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