Grok wrote:Skydance, led by David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, took control after Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, now overseeing CNN, CBS News, HBO Max, and more while chasing $6 billion in cost savings. A Semafor report claims Musk invested around $1 billion, though neither he nor Skydance has confirmed it. Online reactions ranged from excitement over potential reforms at CNN—which Musk once called the 'Disinformation News Network'—to questions about employee exits and media influence under leaders tied to Trump.
It's hard for me to imagine an outcome where this type of thing produces a more reliable, more respected news organization. I expect the results to be similar to what happened to Twitter, community standards fall away and content becomes increasingly unhinged and anti social.
I don't think of CNN as a pristine model neutral reporting but it was built by people who cared about the truth and tried honorably. Institutions that work are built by the collaboration of many but it only takes one to tear them down.
For more than two decades I maintained a paper subscription to US News and World report as my primary news source and I miss those days of imperfect news institutions that offered their editorial opinion openly in a separate section and printed regular retractions and errors.
barnhart wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2026 8:31 amI don't think of CNN as a pristine model neutral reporting but it was built by people who cared about the truth and tried honorably. Institutions that work are built by the collaboration of many but it only takes one to tear them down.
... Ted Turner was someone who "cared about the truth and tried honorably"?
barnhart wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2026 8:31 amI don't think of CNN as a pristine model neutral reporting but it was built by people who cared about the truth and tried honorably. Institutions that work are built by the collaboration of many but it only takes one to tear them down.
... Ted Turner was someone who "cared about the truth and tried honorably"?
That reminds me of how he got the company in the first place. His dad had sold it, so Ted and the sales team went out and sabotaged the company they worked for, paying billboard owners to cancel the contracts with his dad's company and re-sign with a new company that Ted had created. Of course, his argument was that his dad should have sold to him and that the folks who were buying it were underpaying, but he still wasn't acting honorably or with integrity. He may have established a company that adhered more closely to the facts than some other companies, but I don't think that is always the same thing as caring about truth and being honorable.
I’m curious whether this new Skydance can survive the debt used to create this monstrosity. The acquisitions of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have left the company with an $86.6 Billion debt load. Even with its acquisitions, Skydance is only “worth” $40 billion. That’s why David Ellison needs Elon’s money.
To quote Bette Davis: "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
0 x
"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless."
barnhart wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2026 8:31 amI don't think of CNN as a pristine model neutral reporting but it was built by people who cared about the truth and tried honorably. Institutions that work are built by the collaboration of many but it only takes one to tear them down.
... Ted Turner was someone who "cared about the truth and tried honorably"?
That reminds me of how he got the company in the first place. His dad had sold it, so Ted and the sales team went out and sabotaged the company they worked for, paying billboard owners to cancel the contracts with his dad's company and re-sign with a new company that Ted had created. Of course, his argument was that his dad should have sold to him and that the folks who were buying it were underpaying, but he still wasn't acting honorably or with integrity. He may have established a company that adhered more closely to the facts than some other companies, but I don't think that is always the same thing as caring about truth and being honorable.
I had forgotten about Mr. Turner, I had in mind the reporters over the years who believed in reporting truth and made effort to do a good job.
... Ted Turner was someone who "cared about the truth and tried honorably"?
That reminds me of how he got the company in the first place. His dad had sold it, so Ted and the sales team went out and sabotaged the company they worked for, paying billboard owners to cancel the contracts with his dad's company and re-sign with a new company that Ted had created. Of course, his argument was that his dad should have sold to him and that the folks who were buying it were underpaying, but he still wasn't acting honorably or with integrity. He may have established a company that adhered more closely to the facts than some other companies, but I don't think that is always the same thing as caring about truth and being honorable.
I had forgotten about Mr. Turner, I had in mind the reporters over the years who believed in reporting truth and made effort to do a good job.
I expect there were quite a few. And if there is pressure from the top it could make it more difficult for reporters to report the actual facts.
ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2026 10:14 am
That reminds me of how he got the company in the first place. His dad had sold it, so Ted and the sales team went out and sabotaged the company they worked for, paying billboard owners to cancel the contracts with his dad's company and re-sign with a new company that Ted had created. Of course, his argument was that his dad should have sold to him and that the folks who were buying it were underpaying, but he still wasn't acting honorably or with integrity. He may have established a company that adhered more closely to the facts than some other companies, but I don't think that is always the same thing as caring about truth and being honorable.
I had forgotten about Mr. Turner, I had in mind the reporters over the years who believed in reporting truth and made effort to do a good job.
I expect there were quite a few. And if there is pressure from the top it could make it more difficult for reporters to report the actual facts.
Considering how things have gone at CBS under Bari Weiss, I imagine it won’t be pretty.
0 x
"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless."
It's almost always possible for things to get worse. We may not like the media available today and feel celebratory about it's destruction, but it is far from certain the thing that replaces it will be better.
