Here’s a story about Warner Discovery, CNN’s parent company, going to the Trump “orbit” to see how they can curry favor with King Trump:
WBD confirmed that a company representative recently reached out to the Trump orbit seeking advice about how the company might advantageously interact with the White House and improve its Trump-age odor. The reported message was to look at the example of Amazon and Jeff Bezos paying Melania Trump $40 million to participate in a documentary about herself. Don Jr. might like a hunting and fishing show on the Discovery Channel, they were told. And that CNN could have more pro-Trump voices — suggestion provided.
Just another bit of Trumpian deal-making, Why not?
Business Insider reports:
There’s no evidence that WBD has acted on any of those suggestions. But it’s certainly worth noting that last summer, Zaslav said he was rooting for a president that would allow the media business to consolidate — something Joe Biden had opposed. And that the day after Trump’s election last fall, Zaslav said he was hopeful the new administration “would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that’s needed.”
On the flip side, Trump is a frequent critic of WBD-owned CNN, and has sued the news organization — unsuccessfully — multiple times. And during his first administration, Trump’s antitrust officials sued to stop AT&T from buying Time Warner, WBD’s predecessor company. Media executives in and outside of Time Warner believe that suit, which didn’t succeed but took years to litigate, stemmed from Trump’s distaste for CNN; Trump antitrust officials insist that wasn’t the case.
Something to keep in mind as we watch the network’s non-stop coverage of Joe Biden’s alleged semi-comatose behavior throughout his term — which is coincidentally, Trump’s most relentless attack as he seeks to blame Biden for all of his own screw-ups. It’s a nice little gift.