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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAurggghhh! ABC interview with Prez Biden
ABC interviewer's questions are horrible!!!
The interview was focused on how bad can we make Biden feel. Plus, he was goading Biden to "admit" how wrong and how many mistakes he has made.
Just_Vote_Dem
(3,645 posts)Submariner
(13,365 posts)CNN to fall in line with the OAN RWNJ world.
WarGamer
(18,613 posts)Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)OAN is owned by ATT, the largest institutional shareholders are Vanguard and Blackrock
CNN is owned by Time Warner, Time Warner is owned by AT&T, the largest institutional shareholders are Vanguard and Blackrock
How can this not be an anti-trust issue. CNN is lost, they are going right wingnut.
WarGamer
(18,613 posts)Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)Just do your research.
Even further fleshing out:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/att-is-partly-responsible-for-rise-of-one-america-news-network-report-alleges/%3famp=1
When contacted by Ars today, AT&T provided a statement saying it never invested directly in OAN:
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)set up in calibration with Robert Herring and AT&T, AT&T biggest shareholder is Vanguard and Blackrock, Vanguard and Blackrock are owned by their investors, via 401k's, etc, the investors are you and me. So, they are using investors' money to steer the media towards wingnuttery and to sew violence.
If you follow the money, it appears that Herring Network is just a shell company for AT&T. Please feel free to let me know if I am wrong.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_America_News_Network
Celerity
(54,407 posts)Now you are conflating a revenue stream (from DirecTV showing their network) to ownership. AT&T does not own OANN. Herring Networks Inc. owns OANN. Period. End of story.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/att-is-partly-responsible-for-rise-of-one-america-news-network-report-alleges/%3famp=1
AT&T has never had a financial interest in OAN's success and does not "fund" OAN. When AT&T acquired DirecTV, we refused to carry OAN on that platform, and OAN sued DirecTV as a result. Four years ago, DirecTV reached a commercial carriage agreement with OAN, as it has with hundreds of other channels and as OAN has done with the other TV providers that carry its programming. DirecTV offers a wide variety of programming, including many news channels that offer a variety of viewpoints, but it does not dictate or control programming on the channels. Any suggestion otherwise is wrong.
This is literally already facing up like that trainwreck (from your end) of interactions we had last time. You are once again all over the place with incorrect statements.
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)Who is the largest intuitional investor for AT&T and Verizon? Are they not the same? I am sorry you have a problem with me telling the truth.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)are proving once again, plus you are evading your false claim that kicked this all off, just like you falsely claimed AT&T owned Verizon in another thread. You fail to grasp even the most basic of concepts, such as ownership.
AT&T does NOT own OANN.
All your tangents (also false, both here and in that other thread) do not change that simply fact.
You are wrong, and I am done with this nonsense.
radius777
(3,921 posts)as the Reuters article and Wikipedia entry indictate. They wanted 'another FOX' and felt there was an audience for it and money to be made.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)The problem with some in here is that they just make up false things that fit their own narrative and then they to conflate someone correcting those false claims as somehow taking a stance that is in league with the bad actors, and is therefore a bad actor themselves.
That is illogical rubbish, and only serves to aid the actual bad actors, as it introduces easily debunked claims into the arguments' foundations that seek to expose the bad actors themselves.
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)Last edited Sun Jan 2, 2022, 04:26 PM - Edit history (1)
You know nothing about me or what I know about finance. I will put my bank account against your bank account any day....any day.
Your failure to look at where the money is coming from to fund the various news networks, etc tells me you are the one lacking in finance.
The money is coming from Vanguard and Blackrock - yes that means all the shareholders (401k's , etc) are funding these news organizations etc. YES, we the people, via Vanguard and Blackrock, are funding these news organizations through AT&T, Time Warner, etc, etc.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)any concrete evidence to back up your claims, because you cannot, as they are false. You make faulty assumptions about funding via share ownership, conflating it with operational control, and falsely say firms own others when they do not, like your repeated false claims that AT&T bought Verizon.
EOS
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)I and others have already provided you with links, does AT&T and Verizon have the same major shareholders??? I have asked you this many times yet you never answer the question???? Why. Sounds like you work or have some interest in AT&T, sorry it is a horrible company that funded 90% of OAN. Here again I will post the same article again and again.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_America_News_Network
Who are the major institutional shareholders of AT&T?
www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/052516/top-4-att-shareholders-t.asp
Who are the major institutional shareholders of Verizon?
finance.yahoo.com/quote/VZ/holders
You claim that I am wrong - prove it - I have given you articles as have others on DU, please show me your articles. By the way AT&T did buy/merge with part of Verizon.
www.att.com/mergers/unicelminnesota/about-the-merger.jsp
Celerity
(54,407 posts)corporation. You keep conflating holding a minority percentage (none hold more than 8.4% in either AT&T or Verizon) of shares with operational control.
The 3 biggest institutional investors (from your own link, they are Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street, which are primarily passively managed mutual fund and ETF firms) in AT&T combined hold less than 20% of the shares outstanding (as of your link date):
BlackRock owns 493.7 million shares of AT&T, representing 6.9% of total shares outstanding
State Street owns 296.0 million shares of AT&T, representing 4.2% of total shares outstanding
The same 3 investment firms hold less than 19% of shares outstanding for Verizon (as of your link date).

None of them individually holds more than 8.4% in either AT&T or Verizon.
They are NOT in the boardroom micromanaging some Machiavellian fantasy schemes. They do NOT have operational control of either corporation, no matter how much you pound the table and claim it.
Again you post this:
you said
HERE:
That link you again posted is from 2009 and was NOT a merger, it was (as I already explained in great detail on the other thread, here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16145838 )
You were completely wrong then and are simply repeating the same false claims now.
AT&T DOES NOT OWN VERIZON
Your link is from almost 13 years ago (May 2009) and was simply limited acquisitions of scattered markets, via swaps plus cash, NOT a complete merger, which would very likely not be allowed under current antitrust law in the US. AT&T was blocked from buying the much smaller (than Verizon) T-Mobile on 2011 on antitrust grounds. See below.
Alltel and Unicel no longer exist, have not for ages.
https://www.att.com/mergers/unicelminnesota/about-the-merger.jsp
AT&T recently completed an acquisition agreement with Verizon Wireless which included select Verizon Wireless, Unicel, and Alltel properties in your area. The acquisition enhances AT&T's wireless network coverage primarily in rural areas in 79 service areas in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. You can see a map of the acquired markets here.
AT&T will launch service on a market-by-market basis as network integration is completed. Your wireless service will transition to AT&T shortly after that. We will contact you and other affected subscribers shortly with more information about your service transition. In the meantime, if you have more questions, please read our FAQs.
here is an article on it:
AT&T and Verizon swap wireless assets
May 11, 2009
AT&T said it will buy the Alltel assets that Verizon Wireless needs to shed, and Verizon will buy some assets from AT&T's purchase of Centennial Wireless.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/at-t-and-verizon-swap-wireless-assets/
As part of the deal, AT&T will get wireless spectrum licenses, network assets, and 1.5 million subscribers in 79 service areas.
Verizon Wireless was required to sell assets in parts of 18 different states as a condition for getting regulatory approval to buy Alltel. The Verizon-Alltel deal, valued at $28.1 billion, was announced in June 2008, and closed in January this year. After the merger, Verizon Wireless became the largest U.S. wireless operator, surpassing AT&T in terms of subscribers.
So what does this mean for former Alltel wireless customers? Well, for customers in parts of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming, it means that they will become AT&T wireless customers.
The asset acquisition also included a few markets from Verizon Wireless and the former Rural Cellular, AT&T said in its statement. The old Rural Cellular, or Unicel as it was also called, had operations in parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Alabama, Mississippi, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.
AT&T tried to but T-Mobile USA in 2011 and were blocked
Attempted purchase of T-Mobile USA by AT&T
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_purchase_of_T-Mobile_USA_by_AT%26T
here is the history of Verizon wireless
Verizon (mobile network)
https://tinyurl.com/2aycchs5
In May 2018, former Verizon executive, Miguel Quiroga, launched the pre-paid carrier Visible in Denver Colorado, which Verizon funds and owns.
On June 8, 2018, Verizon announced that Hans Vestberg had been picked to become CEO on August 1, 2018.
In 2019, Verizon Wireless services were split between two new divisions: Verizon Consumer and Verizon Business.
In 2020 Verizon launched a prepaid mobile phone service named Yahoo! Mobile following acquiring the overall Yahoo! brandname in 2017.
On September 14, 2020, Verizon entered into an agreement to purchase TracFone Wireless which was worth an approximate $6.25 Billion
Your entire positings on this and on the other thread are faulty both in their foundational claims and then the false conclusions and invented narratives your try to erect from them.
This has become more than tedious.
Done here.
WarGamer
(18,613 posts)This is called moving the goalposts.
Poster above says OAN is OWNED by ATT.
It is not.
ATT pays OAN for the rights to broadcast the channel the same way they pay Discovery, Disney and DIY Channels.
This is because... like it or not, there is a market for it. And they are a business.
Nothing more.
The rest is arguing over minutiae.
https://miro.medium.com/max/1056/0*E1eNateTiDThGcYI.jpg
WarGamer
(18,613 posts)"Put your bank account up" against Celerity???
That's pathetic.
No one FUNDS the RW networks.
They make money because they have an audience. Their audience is large enough to sell advertising to make MONEY.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)and quickly shown to be factually wrong, and to also be constructing fantasy tales of nefariousness intent (including ludicrously blaming the public at large) based off those false underpinning claims. Yet they just keep going, doubling down on the bollocks.
here is a quick summation
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16206454
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)Celerity has been dogging me on this subject, evidently, he does not know how to follow the money.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)for a fundamental lack of knowledge in the areas of finance, capital, ownership etc etc.
All one needs to do, to see this, is to read these threads where you have consistently been exposed making the most simplistic of definitional and factual errors, then erecting fictitious constructs based off those errors.
Laughable!
YOU were the one who came back in a full week after my last reply, and kicked it all off again with your same old false claims.

radius777
(3,921 posts)that they wanted 'another FOX' and thought it could make money.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)All the pettifogging, subject sliding, banging on the table in lieu of facts, etc will not change that simple fact.
The first poster (who in the past made a similar false claim about AT&T owning Verizon) made a false claim, and the poster you replied to corrected it.
Nothing more, nothing less.
People are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts.
I shall not stand by, when I see falsehoods being posted, and allow them to go unchallenged. I understand that my stance on this makes some here quite unhappy and at times combative. I cannot help that, nor will I change my modus operandi.
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)Last edited Sun Jan 2, 2022, 04:01 PM - Edit history (1)
Why did AT&T fund 90% of OAN? Why did AT&T collaborate with Robert Herring to start OAN company in 2013 under Herring Networks, Inc? Who controls AT&T, Vanguard and Blackrock, who owns Vanguard and Blackrock? Individual investors - Yes, Vanguard and Blackrock are using "OUR MONEY" against us.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)repeating the same false bollocks over and over it will magically come true.
You said
They DID NOT. That is false statement.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/att-is-partly-responsible-for-rise-of-one-america-news-network-report-alleges/
AT&T has never had a financial interest in OAN's success and does not "fund" OAN. When AT&T acquired DirecTV, we refused to carry OAN on that platform, and OAN sued DirecTV as a result. Four years ago, DirecTV reached a commercial carriage agreement with OAN, as it has with hundreds of other channels and as OAN has done with the other TV providers that carry its programming. DirecTV offers a wide variety of programming, including many news channels that offer a variety of viewpoints, but it does not dictate or control programming on the channels. Any suggestion otherwise is wrong.
You said
False again.
Herring Networks is not a shell company (do you even know what one is?) and it was founded in 2003, not 2013.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herring_Networks
Herring Networks Inc. is a media company based in San Diego, California. It was founded in 2003 by Robert Herring. Through its Herring Broadcasting division, the company owns and operates two cable networks: AWE Network (originally known as Wealth TV), an American lifestyle and entertainment cable network founded in 2004.
A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees.
Herring Networks, Inc.
https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.herring_networks_inc.4f010dc70e6f0cb72cf9944aae9ef3c0.html
Doing Business As: Herring Networks, Inc.
Company Description: Herring Networks, Inc. is located in San Diego, CA, United States and is part of the Radio and Television Broadcasting Industry. Herring Networks, Inc. has 130 total employees across all of its locations and generates $13.60 million in sales (USD). (Sales figure is modelled).

Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)with 90% of AT&T money in 2013, why? You can use legitimate companies and collaborate to disguise the true ownership (which is what shell companies do - hide true ownership and funnel assets under the radar). Again see the link below:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_America_News_Network
Celerity
(54,407 posts)AT&T NEVER had ownership of, nor did they fund OANN.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/att-is-partly-responsible-for-rise-of-one-america-news-network-report-alleges/
AT&T has never had a financial interest in OAN's success and does not "fund" OAN. When AT&T acquired DirecTV, we refused to carry OAN on that platform, and OAN sued DirecTV as a result. Four years ago, DirecTV reached a commercial carriage agreement with OAN, as it has with hundreds of other channels and as OAN has done with the other TV providers that carry its programming. DirecTV offers a wide variety of programming, including many news channels that offer a variety of viewpoints, but it does not dictate or control programming on the channels. Any suggestion otherwise is wrong.
You are posting in utter bad faith.
This is bordering on the absurd.
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)They funded, 90% (90% of OAN revenue is from AT&T) of OAN and OAN was created at AT&T's request.
I have literally sent you a link 2-4 times, here you go......, again!
One America News Network (OANN), also known as One America News (OAN), is a far-right,[15] pro-Trump[23] cable channel founded by Robert Herring Sr. and owned by Herring Networks, Inc., that launched on July 4, 2013.[28] The network is headquartered in San Diego, California, and operates news bureaus in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company said in 2019 OANN was available in 35 million homes and that its audience ranged from 150,000 to as large as 500,000, though that year Nielsen Media Research estimated its viewership to be about 14,000.[29][30] Reuters reported in October 2021 that Robert Herring Sr. testified in court that the network was created at the urging of executives of AT&T, which has since been the source of up to 90% of the network's revenues.[31]
Its prime-time political talk shows have a conservative perspective, and the channel has described itself as one of the "greatest supporters" of Trump.[32] Trump himself has promoted both the network and some of its hosts.[4][33][34][35]
The channel is known for promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories.[45] In November 2020, YouTube suspended OANN for one week and ended its ability to monetize its existing content as a first strike under its three-strike community guideline violation policy for advertising a false cure for COVID-19.[43] In 2021, the channel was sued by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic for promoting false claims that the companies had engaged in election fraud during the 2020 presidential election.[46][47]
Substance over form, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck.....it is a duck, the true owner based on the facts is AT&T. AT&T's major institution shareholders are Vanguard and Blackrock.
Response to Mary in S. Carolina (Reply #70)
Celerity This message was self-deleted by its author.
Celerity
(54,407 posts)Here are all your false claims (listed first) debunked
AT&T does not own CNN, Time Warner does
AT&T does not own Verizon, Verizon Communications does
AT&T does not own OANN, Herring Networks does
AT&T does not own Herring Networks, Herring does not have a parent company.
Herring Networks was not formed in 2013, it was formed in 2003
Herring Networks is not a shell corporation (you clearly do not understand what a shell firm is), never was. They have 130 employees and physical offices, thus instantly violating the definition of a shell company.
AT&T is NOT operationally controlled by Vanguard and/or BlackRock. Those two investment firms have nowhere near enough share ownership to have operational control. They are not in the boardroom of AT&T, spinning up Machiavellian plots and schemes. You clearly do not understand publicly traded firms and their management structures.
Per your own links above:
Vanguard Group owns 596.4 million shares of AT&T, representing 8.4% of total shares outstanding. BlackRock owns 493.7 million shares of AT&T, representing 6.9% of total shares outstanding.
AT&T DOES own DirecTV, but when OANN launched in 2013, DirecTV REFUSED TO CARRY THEM.
OANN SUED, and they eventually worked out a carriage agreement to settle the lawsuit. That is where the majority of OANN's revenue comes from. OANN is not owned by AT&T, was not started by AT&T, and AT&T money never funded OANN. OANN sued AT&T's DirecTV division just to get carriage.
Bottom Line:
Your entire multiple thread, weeks-long continuous litany of false claims, false fantasyland constructs, all-round misinformation, and then continuing to double down on it all is the stuff of wilful bad faith posting.
You are not at ALL being truthful when it comes to these subjects. That is so so not a good look.
Truth matters. A lot.
Kid Berwyn
(24,393 posts)Giving our Corporate Overlords and Ownership their rightful loot.
onecaliberal
(36,594 posts)luv2fly
(2,673 posts)I gave up, it just pisses me off.
onecaliberal
(36,594 posts)I cant do it either.
luv2fly
(2,673 posts)mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)Avoiding things that you know upset you makes a person a sheep? Well, okay, bahhhh.
ailsagirl
(24,287 posts)Klaralven
(7,510 posts)mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)I remember when interviewers did this with Obama. They were constantly negative.
Klaralven
(7,510 posts)In 2024 we need a candidate younger than Obama. By then we will have had 24 years of Presidents born 1942 to 1946.
Clinton born August 19, 1946
Bush born July 6, 1946
Trump born June 14, 1946
Biden born November 20, 1942
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)I gather they were trying to make Joe look bad, but did they succeed?
mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)They actually had "shaming" questions.
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)Friend of mine just texted me to say he kept calling the tests pills. Is that true?
mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)Plus, I don't have any issue with a senior person making some verbal blunders.
We have seen young politicians say some stupid stuff. Sarah Palen. Bush's VP, I can't remember his name. He said stupid stuff and was young.
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)Oh, you remember Quayle! God, he was an idiot. Ah, memories.
mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)Quayle.
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)Told a kid at a school he was visiting that potato had an e on the end.
mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)Fodder for comedians.
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)Somehow he is more horrifying than funny though.
Walleye
(44,804 posts)shrike3
(5,370 posts)They have their narrative and are sticking to it.
mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)Guess what, whinny American's, we can't always get what we want and when we want it. We act like 2 year olds wanting things instantly.
shrike3
(5,370 posts)Christmas trees, Christmas presents, etc. A narrative they run with.
mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)I guess that is Biden's fault too? NO! It means a lot of people are making stuff with cream cheese.
shrike3
(5,370 posts)I seem to remember Kraft paying people not to make cheesecake because there was a cheese shortage. If I'm not mistaken.
mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)I never make cheesecake, they can pay me.
We are getting off topic now.
shrike3
(5,370 posts)I turned to my husband and wondered how we'd get paid for not making cheesecake. (Haven't made it in years.)
ailsagirl
(24,287 posts)Briefly. 😐🥴
ailsagirl
(24,287 posts)I had no trouble finding cream cheese.
womanofthehills
(10,988 posts)But bagels and cream cheese not exactly a big NM breakfast thing - we re into huevos rancheros.
One excuse given for lack of cream cheese in NY is that because of Covid, people are eating at home and buying it all up.
mysteryowl
(9,315 posts)SharonClark
(10,497 posts)doctor on MSNBC. Not good enough, he said. I wanted to slap him.
It's true. We went after Trump for a lousy response, why isn't it fair to call Biden on it. If there's a legit reason for not enough testing capacity he can say it. I had not one but two COVID scares last week. I can't get a test until 1/5. Luckily, both people were sick but not with COVID, one in the hospital. Meanwhile I live with my 91 year old Mother. It's been two years now and people have been yammering about the lack of testing for most of that time.
SharonClark
(10,497 posts)and Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC this morning. Such concern trolling from both of them.
pecosbob
(8,385 posts)Ignore them at press conferences and refuse interviews. Don't answer loaded questions and never, ever let them get away with falsely framing the issue. Put the press secretary on to read prepared statements without taking questions. They don't have a right to be there.
unblock
(56,198 posts)Whatever empty shelves the reporters can find, product is moving, everything is selling like hotcakes.
Yes, our infrastructure can't fully cope with such massive growth. We'd have 8 or 9% growth if everything ran as smoothly as possible.
hey here's a thought, pass the bbb bill the republicans are preventing and fix the problems instead of just whining about it.
Lovie777
(22,971 posts)and he ain't no crybaby. The economy is getting stronger, I just read about super immunity concerning the fully vaccinated, the variant Omicorn is less severe, and people are getting packages on time for Christmas. Gas prices are going down. People are feeling hopeful.
So fuck that want to be journalist and the GQP media.
yorkster
(3,832 posts)from Stephanie Ruhle and Katy Tur today. Called msnbc comment line to complain about blaming Biden for covid situation, etc. And forget Andrea M. I listen less and less except for Maddow, O'Donnell and others especially Ali Velshi.
SharonClark
(10,497 posts)ailsagirl
(24,287 posts)Particularly when the interviewer is a full-fledged moron. 🙄🥱😏🥸🥴
Blue Owl
(59,101 posts)Theyre in it for the 1%, nobody else
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)a media station for the people, we want the news and the truth, not these ridiculous false, conspiracy filled news crap stations.
Blue Owl
(59,101 posts)the cards are stacked against us but the old ways are dying out, and sooner or later people will figure out theyre being played
Mary in S. Carolina
(1,364 posts)If there is one thing I hate, is being lied to or conned - just give me the straight truth, not what you think I want to hear.