John Malone has again voiced his displeasure about what he sees as CNN‘s “embedded” left-leaning bias, likening the political views of the network’s staffers to latent racism that “an awful lot of us white folks” have toward Black people.
Malone is a major shareholder in Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN. The 84-year-old billionaire, a legendary cable and media mogul, also provided key support for Ted Turner’s launch of CNN in 1980.
CNN’s employees “are good people” who “believe they’re not biased,” Malone said on the latest episode of journalist Kara Swisher’s latest podcast, “On With Kara Swisher.” “It’s just like how an awful lot of us white folks say we’re not biased about Blacks. But it’s embedded. You grew up in a family that didn’t see Blacks as we would like to see Blacks today.”
Malone elaborated on his perception of CNN’s liberal bias: “You get somebody, a journalist, an anchor, a promoter, a producer who’s really behind, you know, what you cover and what you don’t cover. And that kind of point of view is difficult to suppress.” He continued, “I mean, if you look at the political affiliations of the journalism industry, who they contribute to, who they register to vote with, OK, you’ll find damn few professional journalists on the right.”
According to Malone, who labels himself politically as a libertarian, CNN has become “too political” as it has competed with Fox News and MSNBC.
Malone contrasted Rupert Mudoch’s approach with Fox News, to combine straight news with conservative-leaning “entertainment” programming, with Turner’s original concept for CNN as “zero celebrity, just journalism, just the news.”
Swisher asked Malone how he squares his criticism of CNN with seemingly giving Fox News a pass for its own right-skewed coverage — noting Fox News’ $787.5 million payment to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, which alleged Fox News repeatedly and knowingly aired false claims about the voting company’s actions related to the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Malone said about Fox News, “they don’t hold themselves to be all journalism. They hold themselves to be sometimes journalism, but a Sean Hannity openly admits he’s very biased, which he is, and the various, let’s call them quasi-celebrities that have their hour here and the hour there. I mean, let’s face it, when you have a comedian, Greg Gutfeld, getting a big audience, and his personal political position is… very right-wing, OK? You know, is it entertainment or is it news? Well, I think it’s entertainment.”
About Fox News, Malone added: “They don’t try to be overwhelmingly factual. They try to be controversial and funny and keep an audience.”
It’s not the first time Malone has complained about what he perceives as CNN’s left-leaning bias. In his new memoir, “Born to Be Wired,” published Sept. 2 by Simon & Schuster, he writes that CNN today is “a shadow of what its founder [Ted Turner] had envisioned” but also says the network has “some of the best journalists in America.”
In an interview with the New York Times published Aug. 29, Malone said CNN journalists “express their opinions too much in their news” and that Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav has been “unable to have any meaningful impact” in changing that. “They can’t help themselves,” Malone said about CNN’s employees. “And so what you’ve got is a left-leaning, anti-Trump news service.”
And in November 2021, while the Discovery-WarnerMedia deal was pending, Malone told CNBC that he’d like CNN to “evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing.”
A CNN rep told the Times in a statement that CNN CEO Mark Thompson “has made it clear from day one that he believes in a CNN that is fair-minded and biased in favor of the facts rather than any political party or interest.” Since Thompson joined CNN in 2023, he has “never experienced any attempt by anyone inside or connected to WBD to improperly influence CNN’s journalism in any way,” according to the rep.
CNN is set to be part of the TV-centric Discovery Global company when WBD splits into two, a move expected to be completed by mid-2026. Warner Bros., to be headed by Zaslav, will comprise streaming and studios businesses.
Also Thursday, Malone spoke at a Paley Media Council event in New York, appearing alongside Zaslav, Barry Diller and Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries. The “cable cowboy” talked about his new book, his history at cable giant Tele-Communications Inc., his life and upbringing, and his experiences with Zaslav, Diller and Fries over the years.
Listen to Malone’s interview on “On With Kara Swisher” from Vox Media:
