CNN has seen a lot of changes over the last three years or so - several leadership changes, multiple changes in weekday and weekend line-ups, and a lot of changes on the staffing side.
And rumor has it that some painful salary cuts may even be coming soon for top anchors as well as the cable news ratings situation there continues to... not be good.
One thing some higher-ups and mid-level staffers at CNN have denied throughout this process is that there was any left-wing bias at the struggling "news" network despite all available evidence consistently proving otherwise.
As further proof that the "there's no liberal bias" hot garbage is flat-out untrue, let's take a look at a few former CNNers, people who were either fired or who resigned, and see the kind of things they've been writing about or focusing on at their various platforms (including social media, Substack, etc.) since.
Chris Cillizza
Cillizza is perhaps most infamous in Media World for laughably declaring in 2016 during his stint at the Washington Post (and as an MSNBC contributor) that reporters "don't root for a side. Period."
Let me say for the billionth time: Reporters don't root for a side. Period. https://t.co/dhH8eherOR
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) October 16, 2016
Except when Cillizza was at CNN in his role as editor at large, he often wore his left-wing bias on his sleeve, and that didn't stop once he was handed his walking papers in December 2022.
As we previously reported, his status as a free agent gave him even more opportunities to cheerlead for Democrats ahead of the 2024 elections, as he did in a Substack piece in September about "the fundamental decency of Joe Biden" and how he should use the alleged characteristic as a weapon in the general election in the event his opponent is former President Donald Trump.
There was also, for example, this tweet where Cillizza rushed to defend Joe Biden, only to get Community Noted with some inconvenient facts:
It just didn't happen.
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) January 24, 2024
And, again, no journalist said "learn to code." And neither did Biden. https://t.co/Tkd6lpvEnt
I could go on and on with more examples on that front, but I think the point has been made.
John Harwood
Of all the biased reporters and hosts at CNN, Harwood in his role as White House correspondent was perhaps the most shameless. We saw this for instance in his defending of Joe Biden against accusations he was too old/unwell for the job, him being a shameless cheerleader for the bogusly named "Inflation Reduction Act," and him coming off as a full-fledged Biden apologist over his disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
None of that changed once Harwood announced his departure from CNN in Sept. 2022. In fact, it got worse, with Harwood's Twitter feed on any given day looking like something you'd see coming from the White House comms staff. Most recently there was a lengthy thread where he quoted a piece written by a Slate journo who was trying to paint a picture of Biden being one of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen:
"ask yourself why Biden, who is stipulated #Old, has managed to helm the most successful presidency in modern history.
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) February 19, 2024
"the reason: he has for the most part surrounded himself with experts, genuine scientists, respected economists, effective governmental actors and advisers."
And then there was this:
Russian intelligence: the oppo research unit of Trump's campaign organization https://t.co/JuXqVkgqpF
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) February 21, 2024
Need I say more about where Harwood's political loyalties reside? I think that about covers the basics.
John Avlon
Avlon, too, as a fill-in anchor at CNN routinely fell in line with the Democratic talking points, which wasn't too much of a surprise considering his previous role as the editor-in-chief of the Daily Beast.
Two weeks ago, Avlon left CNN, and rumors swirled at the time that he was getting ready to announce a Congressional run.
Sure enough, that's exactly what has happened. And in a shocker of shockers, his party affiliation will be... Democrat:
Avlon will be running as a Democrat in New York’s 1st Congressional District, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) fillings.
[...]
He joins a cohort of candidates on the Democratic side that are vying to unseat Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.). LaLota is serving his first term in Congress after succeeding former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.). He was one of a dozen Republican New York freshmen who contributed to flipping the lower chamber red in 2022.
In his campaign announcement, Avlon of course took aim at... Donald Trump:
It's official: I'm running for Congress in #NY01 because there's too much at stake for the country & community I love. Long Island families deserve someone who fights for their values, not Trump's. It's time for us all to get off the sidelines. Join Me. https://t.co/fMu8RdLyBL pic.twitter.com/RHWAam8yif
— John Avlon (@JohnAvlon) February 21, 2024
In picking up where they left off as employees of CNN, these former CNNers keep proving the points conservative media critics made while they were there - that the network was biased against the right and framed their coverage accordingly.
And, as we've also extensively documented, it's still happening with the current rotation of media figures there, something that is unlikely to change anytime soon if ever.
So yes, reporters - many of them - do indeed "root for a side," which is a big reason why trust in the media is at all-time lows and many Americans turn to alternative media sources for news.
Facts first and all that.
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