Very Fake News CNN is starting to see its chickens come home to roost as a new report from The Daily Caller details its shareholders are not happy with the network’s constant bashing of President Trump.
David Almasi, a Time Warner shareholder and Veep of the National Center for Public Policy Research, blasted CNN CEO Jeff Bewkes in a letter he read aloud at the Time Warner shareholders meeting in Los Angeles.
In the past month, CNN parted ways with Kathy Griffin over her photo with a mock severed Trump head and Reza Aslan after he called our President a piece of excrement for pushing the anti-terror travel ban.
Almasi continued:
Mr. Bewkes, we have urged you many times to make CNN more objective. You have admitted to us in 2014 the need for more balance. We praised you last year after CNN President Jeffrey Zucker also acknowledged this and acted on the need for more diverse views. But bias is apparently worse than ever. As shareholders, we are concerned about the repetitional risk to our investment in Time Warner as CNN appears to be a key player in the war against the Trump presidency.
Almasi even accused CNN of being part of the anti-Trump resistance:
I’m inquiring about CNN’s bias and our return on investment. Half of the American public – which includes potential and current CNN viewers – voted for Trump last November and supports his agenda. CNN acts as if it is part of the anti-Trump resistance. Are you willing to lose viewers, possibly forever, because of the bias?
Almasi cited a Media Research Center study which showed that CNN only aired 68 minutes of news coverage that were not anti-Trump. That’s 68 minutes out of 14 hours and 27 minutes on May 12th. The study also noted that out of CNN’s 123 guests, 96 of them were anti-Trump. But, Almasi didn’t stop there:
Is it any wonder that President Trump mocks CNN as ‘fake news,’ that the network was snubbed by Vice President Pence and that it receives poor access at White House press events?
He even threatened Bewkes noting that the Media Research Center will alert advertisers about news programs that “peddle smear, hate, and political extremism.” He then asked Bewkes, “Are you concerned about advertisers leaving CNN? Will you continue to ignore our appeals for objectivity at the risk to our investment in Time Warner?” He even cited Bill O’Reilly, “Boycotts work. Just ask Bill O’Reilly.”
Almasi also criticized Time Warner and CNN’s support and continued sponsorship of Shakespeare in the Park which depicted Donald Trump being executed by members of the Senate in Shakespeare’s famous play Julius Caesar.
The Daily Caller notes Bewkes was initially overwhelmed by the criticism, but quickly found his footing and fired back:
So a couple of facts of what our involvement is…we don’t support the plays or the productions of the public theater and we are not providing individual support of the production. What we do support is a program for young people and emerging artists. …We don’t have a role in influencing which productions they select or how they stage those. …The point of the play is one that has been debated for probably 400 years. It’s not one that advocates…the killing of Caesar…. But again, we don’t fund this. We are certainly not going to drop our support of public theater.
Speaking to The Mirror in a phone interview, Almasi criticized Bewkes’ response referencing the recent terrorist attack on Republican lawmakers, “How much does this promote that kind of attitude? Where are we going to draw the line? I think it goes too far. He obviously thinks it doesn’t.”
Bewkes continued his defense of CNN:
On the subject of CNN…there’s a reason we have multiple political parties and points of view…It’s because we all know there are very different opinions on what is the best course for the country.
He went on to say CNN aims to be “a platform for all the points of view and for an attempt at independent or objective news coverage.”
Bewkes then attempted to put some shine on CNN:
We will recommit on an attempt to try to be independent. I don’t want you to be skeptical of our effort — and it’s very sincere — to try to achieve it. …So far, the viewing is up. Quite dramatically. …We are trying to keep it balanced and fair. I understand you’re thinking we haven’t succeeded, but we are trying.
Almasi once again disputed Bewkes’ silver tongue:
The numbers didn’t lie. He seemed happy to say that their ratings were good. And that can only go so far. …If this network and other networks are going to have a line against the president and almost be part of the resistance then they’re going to pay the price when it comes to consumers. I’m willing to let him go ahead, I’m not going to reserve my criticism necessarily because I want the company to succeed. I’m going to skeptical until I start seeing it.
Almasi did concede that he believes Bewkes was receptive to his criticism, “He seemed to be. It seemed CNN was a small part of the machine today. …We put the screws to him. He realizes he has to do better.”
Source: Daily Caller
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