CNN is not doing well right now.
They were one of the three media outlets, along with MS NOW and Politico, that got the boot from President Donald Trump last Friday regarding access to the White House. CNN later said in response that it wouldn't be participating in pool coverage of the president.
However, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins demonstrated that the network couldn't even last a day without covering Trump, showing up to ask him questions at the United Nations gathering on Tuesday and then airing that on its network. But then CNN couldn't even be bothered to air the president's General Assembly speech live (like the other networks), which was the actual news they should have been covering.
Perhaps they covered the Collins' question and showed it to their viewers thinking it made Trump look bad, but, in fact, it made the network look ridiculous, like they couldn't stand by their boycott and then couldn't be bothered to do their job on the speech. Their handling of it screamed bias, which was one of Trump's points made about why they were booted. Plus, Trump demolished CNN in the exchange with Collins.
But this picture is an example of what CNN "reporters" think of themselves, as though they are some warriors standing in the breach in "solidarity" against the evil Trump, when in fact they are a sorry set of people.
CNN Solidarity. Reporting real news from the UN.@kylieatwood @kaitlancollins pic.twitter.com/F1Dcmnf79T
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) September 22, 2026
"Reporting real news from the UN," they claimed. Then why weren't they airing Trump's speech?
Stunning and brave. Just like storming the beaches of Normandy https://t.co/febGS2q6zw
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 22, 2026
If they are so censored, then how is it they're not shut down? Why are they free to do or not do what they want? Because no one is censoring them.
But things are likely to get worse for them when the new Paramount deal goes through, and staffers at CNN are reportedly already in a panic about what might come next.
Paramount settled an antitrust suit with California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday — clearing the way for a merged media giant that will operate both CBS News and CNN, in addition to Hollywood studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+.
“People are very nervous,” one CNN staffer told The Post. “It’s dark. It’s like when you do hurricane coverage. You see the storm spinning off the coast of Haiti and moving towards Florida and you’re just waiting and you’re like, ‘Oh, s–t’.”
“Bloodbath coming, including at CNN,” a TV exec said. “That’s the next big step — slashing and burning.”
Paramount has said it sees at least $6 billion in cost savings, which would translate to several thousand jobs lost in the months ahead.
The mood at CNN is “like a funeral" says one person familiar with the operation.
They're looking at how CBS News changed under the new leadership of Bari Weiss and are concerned about what any changes might bring.
CNN employees were already worried about the deal going through back in June, when, according to a report, they turned their boss’s office into a makeshift “psychiatrist’s couch."
CNN staffers were worried over Paramount boss David Ellison’s connections to Trump — as well as that of Ellison’s father, Larry, who is a huge Trump donor.
The fearful employees were apparently fretting CNN will be forced to make a turn to the right by virtue of association if Ellison took control, and voiced their worries to CNN executive Amy Entelis.
Now their worst nightmares have been realised.
It couldn't happen to a more deserving group. The network has been happy to publish/air the trash they've put out for a long time.
Maybe they should have had a little self-reflection and been concerned about their lack of objectivity over the years. Then maybe they wouldn't have to worry if someone comes in with the intent to make things more objective, which might happen with this change. Maybe then they would have more viewers, their ratings would be better, and people might respect their reporting.
But as it is, I don't know if they could ever overhaul their reputation, given the way they have wrecked it.
