The Scoop
A CNN booker privately said that the network was concerned about booking a guest critical of Paramount’s acquisition of the news network’s parent company, a remark CNN dismissed as a mistake.
On Monday, over a thousand Hollywood players — including actors Ben Stiller, Joaquin Phoenix, David Fincher, and Florence Pugh, among others — wrote a public letter opposing the merger of Paramount and CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing the deal will damage an already beleaguered entertainment industry with additional consolidation and job cuts.
The move garnered widespread press coverage, including in CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter and on the network’s show The Lead with Jake Tapper.
But other parts of the network were hesitant to air segments promoting the letter.
One person familiar with the situation told Semafor that organizers of the letter had been in touch with a producer, Jen Buesinger Sperry, over potential coverage of the letter on CNN’s air on Monday. Organizers had dangled one signatory, actor Mark Ruffalo, as a potential guest, or one of the letter’s legal advisors, Trump critic Norm Eisen. According to the source familiar with the situation, CNN had initially expressed interest in the segment.
But a short time after connecting with organizers, the network decided to pass, telling them that CNN was treading carefully around its coverage of the deal because of legal considerations.
“It’s a delicate subject for us at CNN given Warner Bros. Discovery is our parent company, and there are legal considerations around what we can and cannot cover or say while the merger is ongoing,” the producer said, adding that the network was going to “pass on booking either for the show.” The producer did connect organizers with other CNN staff for potential coverage.
In a statement to Semafor, a network spokesperson suggested the producer was inartfully declining a pitch, and said that there were no unusual editorial restrictions around the network’s coverage of the deal.
“The email to the coalition was incorrect and no one advised any editorial employee at CNN not to pursue this story,” a CNN spokesperson said. “From the start, CNN has been committed to reporting the Warner Bros. Discovery sale process impartially and in the way it would report any other story.”
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CNN and its parent company have often been one of the more sensitive areas for the cable news organization. Media reporter Oliver Darcy made headlines over his critical coverage of the network when Chris Licht, its former president, was in charge. After being pushed out of the network, former network stars like Don Lemon and Jim Acosta have grumbled about its coverage, and have speculated about whether Paramount owner David Ellison will attempt to alter the publication’s editorial mantra, and soften some of its edges.
Paramount overcame its most significant hurdles earlier this year in its attempt to acquire WBD. The company warded off Netflix with a bigger offer, and federal regulators seemed to signal that the deal could be on a path to government approval.
Still, some opposition remains. Democratic attorneys general in states like California and New York have said that they are examining the consequences of the merger and how it will impact the economies in their states, though some legal experts question whether those potential lawsuits could supersede approval by the federal government. Senate Democrats seem poised to raise questions about the deal in a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Critics also continue to wage a PR battle against Paramount and WBD over the deal.
On Tuesday, Semafor first reported that Paramount had cancelled its advertising with Hollywood entertainment-focused publication The Ankler over founder and columnist Richard Rushfield. Rushfield has been vocally opposed to the deal, writing columns against both Netflix and Paramount’s bids. One Paramount source suggested the final straw, though, was Rushfield’s possession of “Block the merger” pins at Cinemacon this week.
In an appearance on former CNN anchor Jim Acosta’s stream on Tuesday, Eisen and Ruffalo criticized Paramount for the move.