RIP, CNN

[NanceGreggs]

For years, Trump labelled CNN as purveyors of "fake news".

With tonight's bogus "town hall" packed with MAGA sycophants, CNN proved he was right.

[WarGamer]

1. CNN was dead years ago...

Now they think going FoxLite will improve their ratings.

We will see...

[edisdead]

28. For me it was the second iraq war coverage

That wasn’t news…. It was military porn.

[robbob]

36. It was state sponsored propaganda

And it was disgusting. Even worse? The half hearted mea culpas afterwards for their part in lying the country into a multi trillion dollar boondoggle.

[spanone]

2. ...K&R...

[dchill]

3. But it's Trump's BRAND of fake news!

Criminal traitor approved.

[dalton99a]

4. They just dusted off their old business plan

[NewHendoLib]

5. CNN. Completely Not News

[NewHendoLib]

7. CNN is now owned by a wing nut

I've not watched it for 15 years

[GuppyGal]

14. Good for you! But I'm just giving you an FYI nt

[arthritisR_US]

23. It was a good FWI, TY!

[ProfessorGAC]

51. No It's Not

We agree that John Malone is a problem and that has greatly outsized influence over their operations.
But, Malone only owns 1% of the stock. He doesn't "own" CNN.
Funds own over 40% of the stock, some holding 7 to 9 times what Malone holds.
In fact, he's the SIXTEENTH highest shareholder.
That only reinforces my belief that he shouldn't have that much influence.

[ShazzieB]

58. Only 1%? Wow...that doesn't sound like ownership to me!

And yet I keep hearing that he owns the place.

Sounds like a rumor that got out of hand and needs to be stamped out.

[sheshe2]

8. Nailed it!

[Cha]

10. FUCK the Pimp For Bullshit Propaganda

Station, Bloody CNN.

[niyad]

11. Spot on, as always.

[Bluethroughu]

12. Maybe Murdock is investing into CNN, because Fox is over.

How could they showcase this shitbag.

[orthoclad]

13. Oligarch News Network

News-anon.

It's not even about ratings anymore: straight ruling class propaganda.

[tulipsandroses]

15. The new CNN boss Chris Licht was clear about the direction he wanted to take CNN

I posted his groveling to republicans almost a year ago. Subsequent threads had posters arguing that this was not a thing. It’s hard to believe that some still underestimate right wing madness.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

20. Chris Licht was clear about the direction he wanted to take CNN, towards good journalism.

The Town Hall was an example of this. Trump looked bad. The clips will play over and over and over.

Biden is already fundraising behind Trump's disaster. Kaitlan Collins kept challenging Trump's lies, which got her branded as a "nasty person." That doesn't help Trump.

And E. Jean Carroll has grounds for another defamation suit.

Thank you CNN. DU has it all wrong.

[TwilightZone]

26. I think that was more accidental than intentional.

I'm not sure how giving him a free solo block of time is "good journalism". It's still free advertising, as far as Trump is concerned. He basically got to give a campaign speech.

Sure, it was likely that Trump was going to make a fool of himself but that's nothing new, and it seems unlikely that they provided it solely because they thought he would predictably implode.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

27. I disagree. They know the best way to deal with Trump is to give him enough rope.

That worked out brilliantly tonight in my estimation.

[TwilightZone]

46. You're about the only one who thinks so.

Criticism of CNN has been nearly universal, including at CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/11/media/cnn-town-hall-donald-trump-reliable-sources/index.html

[azureblue]

53. Trump has been given enough rope

To tie the earth to the moon. He lies every time he opens his mouth and the media still promotes him.

[jcgoldie]

60. ooo

[BigMin28]

16. 1987

The country held it's breath as we all watched CNN, praying for a little girl in West Texas who fell in a well. We watched for hours as rescuers fought to save her. WE saw her rescue live thanks to CNN.
That CNN died long ago.

[brewens]

19. Yup. The guys that had Crossfire. One of the best political shows ever. You'd never get people

from both parties watching a show like that now. A lot of us would I suppose, but it would never make it without right-wingers watching.

[TwilightZone]

24. Crossfire launched the career of Tucker Carlson.

The later years, particularly with Carlson, fed into the further polarization of politics in the US.

Jon Stewart famously killed the show, of course, and his critique of late-stage Crossfire was pretty spot-on.

[BumRushDaShow]

50. That was when the show was long past its prime

In fact, I agree that the Jon Stewart beat-down pretty much ended it for good (well at least until they tried to revive it one more time with Sippy Cupp and Van Jones, et. al. )

[BlackSkimmer]

34. Ah yes, the show that launched the career of Tucker Carlson.

Such fond memories. Not.

[Joinfortmill]

17. Yup

[Turbineguy]

18. I'll miss the New Year's show.

[Warpy]

21. Yep, they've gone back to being "Contains No News."

They've tried this bullshit before and lost half their audience. I doubt it will be any different now.

[calimary]

25. "Contains No News"!

I LOVE that, even as the very idea of it feels like a punch in the gut.

[ancianita]

22. fake news, fake frontrunner, win-win

[Rhiannon12866]

29. Excellent point, he castigated CNN at every opportunity

This may be the one and only time he told the truth.

[claudette]

30. Haven't

watched CNN for a long time

[Sky Jewels]

31. CNN Trump boot-Lichters

[rurallib]

32. I sure hope advertisers are walking away this morning.

Bucks is the only language they know.

[ananda]

33. CNN went to the dark side last year.

They've been RIP for me for a good while.

[Meadowoak]

43. I haven't watched CNN since Ted Turner sold them.

[Spazito]

52. That was when CNN started down the slippery slope, imo...

there was a noticeable difference soon after the sale.

[Rebl2]

35. I think

Ted Turner would be horrified at what has happened to CNN. I always thought he was conservative, but after reading about his views on climate and abortion I guess not. He is more liberal.

[Johonny]

39. Ted made them cover world news

He basically thought it was the stations duty to cover the world. He would be horrified as to what CNN and cable news in general has evolved into.

[Meadowoak]

44. I'm sure he IS horrified, he's still alive at 84 years young.

[Rebl2]

48. Unfortunately I

think he is in poor health. I believe he has dementia unfortunately.

[DFW]

59. I got to talk to him once.

He IS conservative, but only as the word is defined in English—NOT as defined in Republicanese. He is anything BUT right wing, and when it comes to the environment or personal rights, he is an outright, outspoken progressive. He is definitely one of us.

[peggysue2]

37. CNN sold its soul back in 2016

Jeff Zucker, former president of CNN, publicly announced that:

Trump may be bad for the country but he's great TV.

And so, the low bar for all the Trump 'news' networks came a-calling for CNN. The townhall last night (which I did not watch) was merely an extension of Zucker's statement, the ultimate destination where anything and everything is given airtime for the sake of eyeballs and click bait, even a douchbag who would bring down the country.

Wilson marked the phenomenon years ago:

Everything Trump Touches Dies. This was yet again, a ETTD moment.

[housecat]

38. If one phrase sums it all up it is "everything tfg touches dies"

[Rebl2]

42. Yep

I truly believe that.

[Tactical Peek]

55. I think the remark is attributable to Les Moonves with CBS.

Leslie Moonves on Donald Trump: “It May Not Be Good for America, but It’s Damn Good for CBS”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/leslie-moonves-donald-trump-may-871464/

[SouthernDem4ever]

40. Couldn't have said it better!

[dawn5651]

41. i quit watching cnn a long time ago...now it is time to stop reading the website.

the fact that they allowed him to make jokes about rape and his *town hall* full of idiots laughed about rape is all anyone needs to know about cnn and their fallen ethics. I will say i was shocked when they didn't find the orange asshole guilty of rape...because he put his fingers in her vagina and she didn't see a penis....well guess what he penetrated her body without her permission...THAT is rape.

[deelee]

45. I will absolutely NEVER watch CNN again

I hope the little ratings blip was worth it to them

[Catherine Vincent]

49. CNN

And I guess magats won't be calling it the Clinton News Network anymore.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

54. CNN Trump Town Hall Flops With Ratings Lower Than 2016

This makes me smile

Link to tweet

https://www.politicususa.com/2023/05/11/cnn-trump-town-hall-ratings.html

The ratings are in for CNN’s Trump town hall, and the special only drew the audience for an average Tucker Carlson show.

Here are the ratings:

Link to tweet

CNN was expecting a ratings bonanza after the E. Jean Carroll verdict, but instead, Trump drew fewer viewers than the last CNN town hall that he did in March 2016 (3.2 million), and it was nearly eight times fewer viewers than the 2015 Republican primary debate that CNN hosted (23 million).

Trump isn’t a huge ratings draw. CNN could have gone out and hired Tucker Carlson and pulled the same or better numbers than they got with Trump......

The fact that Trump didn’t draw an audience means that the ratings magic is long gone. Trump fatigue is real, and if the CNN town hall was a high water mark for his return to mainstream media, it is a bad sign for the Republican hopes of winning back the White House in 2024.

[gulliver]

56. It was actually excellent.

True, it was basically a Trump rally in terms of the audience. But Kaitlan Collins did an absolutely fantastic job of challenging Trump. Republicans aren't happy today. Trumpies are, but they aren't enough. Marc Thiessen (conservative columnist) has this in the WaPo today. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/11/trump-town-hall-disaster-gop/

CNN should be proud. Hopefully they gained some independent viewers from this. The independents wouldn't like what Trump did, so he is poison on the Republican ticket.

Now, if we Dems can keep our message straight and not alienate independents for no reason, we might be able to get legalized Marijuana, a public option, a Roe v. Wade reinstatement statute, more climate progress, more infrastructure progress, a better deal for teachers, and so forth.

[Evolve Dammit]

57. Drumpf called it the "Clinton News Network." He has one speed: attack. OK, deny/ lie as well

[DFW]

61. I didn't see the spectacle but for s few clips. My take?

1.) CNN ended up not doing Trump any favors, and
2.) That was by accident caused by incompetence, not by design caused by anti-Trump cleverness.

CNN was the guy who took a rowboat out into the middle of the lake, and then drilled a hole in the middle of it so he could more comfortably do some fishing. That the boat sank came as a complete surprise.