"Trump makes a fool of CNN" - Today's Edition Newsletter
"Donald Trump played CNN for a fool at its televised town hall... he steamrolled Collins with a rapid-fire stream of lies that could not be contained. Trump had the enthusiastic support of a Trump-friendly crowd that whooped and hollered as Trump repeated lies that have been soundly refuted."
"INTEGRITY MATTERS. When we conduct business ethically, we send a message to our consumers, business partners, shareholders and other stakeholders that they can put their trust in us...FOR 100 YEARS, the studios and businesses that today comprise Warner Bros. Discovery have entertained, informed and inspired audiences around the world." - Warner Brothers Discovery CEO statement.
Why would a trusted news outlet like CNN destroy its credibility by pandering to fascists? Follow the money. Who now owns the channel? What are their other media properties? What are their owner's political beliefs? Who do they donate to? Who benefits from the FCC that regulates their business operations being weakened?
Follow the money behind CNN pandering fascists
Major donor to Donald Trump and Republican Party
Liberty founder John Malone, a longtime media mogul, and CEO Greg Maffei, who’s also the board chairman at Sirius, have donated millions to Trump and GOP candidates.
Pandora Media shareholders voted Tuesday to approve its $3.5 billion acquisition by satellite radio company Sirius XM, adding the struggling webcaster and one of Oakland's largest employers to the portfolio of major Donald Trump and Republican Party donors at parent company Liberty Media. Acquisition creates what the companies call the world’s largest audio entertainment company.
Pandora has more than 70 million listeners, mostly on its ad-supported free tier, but the company has long lost money and lately fallen behind on-demand streaming competitors such as Spotify and Apple Music. Sirius, by contrast, is profitable with more than 30 million subscribers. The deal consolidates Pandora and Sirius XM under the control of Liberty Media, a Colorado company owned and run by conservative donors, at a time when music industry political giving and tech ties to the Trump administration are increasingly scrutinized.
Policy experts also say the merger empowers a company that’s aggressively fought to suppress royalty payments for artists and copyright holders. - KQED
Corporate hypocrisy at its finest
A platform that claims to have a Code of Ethics broadcasts content that mocks rape, supports a deadly insurrection and threats of violence. The hypocrisy is rich when CNN broadcasts messages such as:
"Trump called January 6th “a beautiful day.” He said that Ashli Babbitt was a “patriot” and that the law enforcement officer who shot Babbitt while defending the Capitol was a “thug.” He said he had no regrets about anything he said on January 6th. He lied about what he said and didn’t say to the insurrectionists. He lied about the timeline of events on January 6th. He said that “Crazy Nancy” was in charge of security at the Capitol on January 6th—a lie. Trump lied about what Mike Pence could lawfully do when counting the electoral ballots. He refused to apologize for endangering Mike Pence’s life. He promised to pardon “a large portion” of the January 6th defendants, including (possibly) the Proud Boys, who have been convicted of seditious conspiracy." - Robert Hubbell
Republicans block Gigi Sohn's nomination to FCC
Senate Republicans are planning a strong fight against President Biden's nomination of consumer advocate Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission. "I will do everything in my power to convince colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject this extreme nominee," wrote Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
The only evidence provided by Graham was a link to a Wall Street Journal editorial … The WSJ also credulously repeated the shaky claim that Wheeler's net neutrality rules "caused broadband investment to decline." But the Journal's primary argument against Sohn, the one highlighted in both the editorial's headline and sub-headline, is that Sohn will be a "media censor" who "wants more government control of the airwaves." Ars Technica
TakeAway: Follow the money to understand corporate behavior. Vote for Democrats to stop Republicans destroying American democracy and public safety to please their billionaire donors.
Deepak
DemLabs
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