CNN

As of August 2024, viewership numbers reported by Nielsen showed CNN is ranked third among American cable news networks by viewership with 1.08 million average prime-time viewers, behind MSNBC at 1.83 million and Fox News at 2.27 million. ³

History

CNN was founded in 1980 in Atlanta by Reese Schonfeld and Ted Turner as part of the Turner Broadcast System. CNN was considered one of the first outlets to provide all-day media coverage as opposed to 30-minute news broadcasts by media networks ABC, CBS, and NBC. ^{4 5}

In 1983, CNN purchased the Satellite News Channel, its largest competitor at the time. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, CNN focused on live coverage of events including the 1986 explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger as well as on-the-ground coverage in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and the First Gulf War in the 90’s. ^{4 5}

In 1995, CNN’s parent company, the Turner Broadcast System, was purchased by Time Warner. In 2001, Time Warner merged with America Online to create AOL Time Warner, at the time the world’s largest media conglomerate. In 2003, Turner stepped down from his role as vice chair. In 2022, Warner Media merged with Discover Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery. ^{4 5}

Political Positioning

Alleged Bias

According to a “bias and reliability scale by the website Allsides, on a scale of -6 to 6, the site gives CNN Digital a bias rating of -1.3, putting it in the category of “lean left.” Allsides gives CNN’s opinion columns a rating of -4, putting it in the category of “left.” ^{6 7}

According to a “media bias chart” used by the website Ad Fontes Media, from a scale of -42 to 42, CNN is given a bias rating of -6.29, putting it in the “skews left” category. ⁸

The website Media Bias/Fact Check categorizes CNN as “left-center” with “mostly factual” reporting. ⁹

In 2014, a Pew Research Center poll found that one-third of people who identify or lean Republican said they distrusted CNN as a news source. In 2019, the figure had increased to 58 percent. In 2022, Zucker resigned from CNN following allegations of an undisclosed relationship with an employee. ^{10 11}

According to an ABC report in August 2022, then-newly appointed CNN Worldwide chairman Chris Licht attempted steps to attract more audience towards the channel that identify or lean Republican. ABC’s report continued by claiming that during a company townhall in April 2022, Warner Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav, who appointed Licht, claimed that news networks should focus on reporting the facts instead of becoming “advocacy networks.” He further stated, “If we get that, we can have a civilized society…[a]nd without it, if it all becomes advocacy, we don’t have a civilized society.”  ¹⁰

Reporting during the Trump Administration

In January 2017, CNN reported on the existence of the “Steele Dossier,” a list of claims about then-President Donald Trump’s alleged involvement in illicit activities with the Russian government. Though CNN did not publish the dossier itself, as Buzzfeed would later publish a story on it, Trump criticized CNN as “fake news” and refused to take questions from CNN reporters at press conferences. ^{1 2} The next month, CNN and other outlets were reportedly blocked from Trump Administration press conferences entirely. ¹²

In June, three CNN journalists resigned after posting a story alleging that Anthony Scaramucci, at the time an adviser to Trump, had business dealings with a Russian investment fund. CNN later retracted and apologized for the story and following the journalists’ resignations it imposed regulations on its reporters investigating stories related to then-President Trump and Russia. ^{13 14}

In January 2020, CNN’s Don Lemon hosted Lincoln Project-affiliated former Republican strategist Rick Wilson and New York Times columnist Wajahat Ali for a segment on his show in which both commentators mocked then-President Trump and his supporters. For instance, Wilson stated that President Trump “knows that this is an administration defined by ignorance of the world. So that’s partly him playing to their base and playing to their audience: the credulous boomer rube demo.” In response, then-President Trump called Lemon the “dumbest man on television.” Lemon later clarified that he was “laughing at the joke and not at any group of people.” ¹⁵

Controversies

Chris Cuomo

In 2013, then-ABC presenter Chris Cuomo joined CNN. Cuomo is the son of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo (D) and the brother of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D). In August 2021, then-governor Andrew Cuomo was accused of sexual assault, leading him to resign from his position shortly thereafter. ^{16 17}

In November 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James released documents allegedly showing that Chris Cuomo had secretly advised Andrew Cuomo and attempted to find information on the accusers through media contacts. In December that year, the network fired Chris Cuomo for ethics violations. ^{16 18}

In March 2022, Chris Cuomo launched a $125 million suit against CNN for wrongful termination and defamation, claiming that the network engaged in “calculated efforts to tar and feather him.” ¹⁷ As of 2023, the legal dispute is ongoing. ¹⁹

2020 Election

In January 2020, Roling Stones contributing editor Matt Taibbi claimed CNN’s moderation of the 7th Democratic Primary Debate that same month was “villainous and shameful” for alleged bias against Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over a report that claimed he once told Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in 2018 that he did not believe a woman could win the election. Sanders denied the report during the debate. ²⁰

Nicholas Sandmann

In January 2019, CNN was one of several outlets covering a confrontation between students of the Covington Catholic High School and a group of Native American protestors in Washington, D.C. A short video of student Nicholas Sandmann, who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat associated with support for then-President Donald Trump, and protestor Nathan Phillips led to controversy over the former’s alleged hostility and racism toward the latter and led to threats against Sandmann and Covington High School. ^{21 22}

Later, videos from a third-party service were released online allegedly showing more context towards the event such as how beforehand the students were being harassed by Black Hebrew Israelite demonstrators, leading to the students using their school chant in response. The videos further allege the school chants may have been misinterpreted by the Native American protesters as mockery against them. Sandmann later claimed that his smirk caught on camera responding to the Native American protesters was an attempt to “defuse the situation” by “remaining motionless and calm.” ^{21 22}

Following the allegations, Sandmann filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN and other media outlets over their coverage and reporting of the incident. In January 2020, CNN settled with Sandmann for an undisclosed amount. ^{21 22}

2016 Election

During the 2016 presidential election, CNN was accused of providing less coverage to U.S Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) compared to other Democratic primary nominees such as former U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (D). In April 2016, a group of supporters for Sen. Sanders protested in front of the CNN building in Los Angeles, California over said allegations. ²³

In October 2016, a hacked email posted to online site Wikileaks claimed that CNN contributor Donna Brazile had allegedly shared information about upcoming  debates with Clinton consultant John Podesta. Later that same month, Brazile was fired from CNN. ²⁴

Octavia Nasr

In 2011, CNN journalist Octavia Nasr left CNN after posting to Twitter that she was “sad to hear” about the death of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, a cleric who supported the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah. Following her initial post on Twitter, Nasr wrote a blog post on the CNN site claiming she did not support most of Fadlallah’s work, but was referring to his, “contrarian and pioneering stand among Shiite clerics on woman’s rights.” ²⁵