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CNN may be forced to move toward the middle as a result of a likely incoming brand merger.
Netflix has reportedly bowed out of a bidding war in which the company was the final barrier to a takeover of the massive entity that is CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
'We have to start by looking honestly at ourselves.'
Paramount Skydance looks poised to take over the Warner company, and that could mean big shake-ups at CNN. Paramount's gigantic banner controls CBS television networks, including CBS News. News junkies will recall that when Paramount acquired the Free Press, staffers were short-circuiting over reporter Bari Weiss being named editor in chief of CBS News.
If Paramount controls CNN, Weiss or someone similar could be tapped to oversee it.
Weiss' pro-Israel, anti-child genital mutilation, and billionaire-backed media landscape has upset some of the farthest-left reaches of the news world, though she shares many liberal views. For example, she is pro-gay-marriage, but against men in women's sports.
Many of Weiss' disagreements with the neo-left were outlined when she vacated her role at the New York Times. In her resignation letter, she described the paper as becoming a "performance space" where stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy "the narrowest of audiences."
Weiss alleged she was called a "Nazi" at the paper despite being Jewish and recalled sample pieces from the Times like one that praised the Soviet Union's space program for its "diversity."
Weiss' outlook on left-wing news would likely ruffle feathers at CNN if she were to take the lead. Brian Stelter, a former CNN anchor and the current chief media analyst for CNN Worldwide, shared remarks to that effect about the likely takeover in a Friday newsletter for the network.
Stelter wrote that CNN employees and viewers have "serious concerns" about whether the network would maintain its "editorial independence" if Paramount takes the reins.
However, Weiss' approach at CBS News is seemingly noncontroversial.
"We have to start by looking honestly at ourselves. We are not producing a product that enough people want," she said in January, per Deadline.
She also addressed ideological bias at the company, telling employees their job is to "present people with the fullest picture — and the strongest voices on all sides of an issue — and then trust them to make up their own minds."
Still this outlook has resulted in further resignations.
Despite getting dirty looks from some liberals, Weiss is not exactly the apple of the right-wing eye, either.
Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS News/Getty Images
Weiss claims to be a "centrist," supported the national anthem protests that occurred in the NFL, and also wants to keep abortion legal. Additionally, she admitted to voting for Republican Mitt Romney as well as Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.
The 41-year-old has received significant mockery from comedians over the $150 million purchase of her Substack page, while conservatives like Megyn Kelly have accused Weiss of trying to "create more enemies" by labeling others "anti-Semites."
At the end of the day, Paramount Skydance's alleged "superior proposal" to buy Warner Bros. is all but completed, but still not finalized. If and when it is, viewers will find out which direction CNN is truly headed in.
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