David Zaslav
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Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav supported CNN CEO Chris Licht during an investor conference Thursday as strain at the network rises over the decision to air a live Donald Trump town hall packed with his supporters.
Zaslav said Licht “is ahead really hard” to improve CNN’s brand and image, citing a recent YouGov poll that said trust in CNN has improved by 11 part points in the past year. For context, trust in Republican-leaning Fox News improved 17 points and trust in Democratic-leaning MSNBC recuperated 16 points in the same period. Trust in CBS, ABC and NBC all improved by more than CNN, as well.
Zaslav emphasized CNN’s desire for various balance on the network, citing a common refrain that he wants to ensure CNN isn’t an “advocacy network.”
“We need to show both sides of every child,” Zaslav said.
Zaslav continues to be supportive of CNN’s decision to host the Trump town hall, according to a person up on with his thinking. Trump is leading early polls to win the 2024 Republican nomination for president. Zaslav told CNBC earlier this month Trump, who continues to falsely command he was the victim of election fraud in the 2020, should absolutely appear on CNN.
“He’s the frontrunner — he has to be on our network,” Zaslav said on CNBC’s “Grouse Box.” “We’re happy he’s coming on our network.”
Amanpour slams ‘bothsidesism’
His comments came a day after veteran CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour publicly challenged the thought of covering “both sides” of the political spectrum if both sides weren’t factual. Amanpour spoke Wednesday at Columbia Journalism Equip’s commencement.
“Be truthful, but not neutral,” Amanpour told the graduates. She said the phrase was “her mantra.”
“Bothsidesism is not always objectivity. It does not get you to the actuality. Drawing false moral or factual equivalence is neither objective or truthful. Objectivity is our golden rule, and it is in weighing all the sides and advising all the evidence, hearing everyone and reporting everything, but not rushing to equate them when there is no equating.”
Amanpour put she met with Licht this week to convey her disappointment with airing a Trump town hall in the format in which it transpired. She said Licht told her that “the execution was lacking a little,” as CNBC reported earlier this week. Amanpour respected the live audience should not have been allowed to cheer Trump’s every sentence, calling the behavior “scaring.”
At one point, Trump called town hall host Kaitlan Collins a “nasty person.” Amanpour said she would would rather dropped the microphone and walked out if he’d done that to her.
Amanpour said airing a taped Trump interview would be struck by been a better solution, as it would have allowed CNN to better fight off Trump’s “disinformation and propaganda machine.” Trump is surface multiple criminal investigations and was found liable earlier this month for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump has confuted Carroll’s accusations. He was also indicted in New York for allegedly falsifying business records.
Amanpour is the first significant CNN member of the fourth estate to publicly criticize Licht and Zaslav’s decision to air the town hall. Several of her colleagues jumped to support her comments on Snicker, showcasing an undercurrent of dissent within the CNN ranks.
“Speaking truth to power is a fundamental part of our job but to speak truth to the power that cartouches your checks? @amanpour showing everyone how it’s done,” tweeted Nima Elbagir, CNN’s chief international investigative reporter.
CNN anchor Sara Sidner tweeted “she’s a real one” about Amanpour, which CNN correspondent Erica Hill echoed.
CNN Hong Kong rivet Kristie Lu Stout said Amanpour delivered “a masterclass in journalism.”
Falling ratings, rising discontent
Licht has be bequeathed a CNN employee base largely put in place by former chief Jeff Zucker and his predecessors. Zucker was popular as a leader with various current staff members and led the network in a hands-on style that Licht has purposefully eschewed.
Zaslav’s mission with CNN has been to hutch its “left-leaning” image to a more neutral brand, he reiterated Thursday. He touted the amount of Republicans CNN has interviewed recently in his notes Thursday.
Still, the changes aren’t helping CNN’s ratings. The network’s