Jared Kushner asked a Time Warner Inc. executive to fire ’20 percent’ of CNN staff
In a meeting earlier this year, Jared Kushner asked a media executive to terminate CNN staff members over their faulty 2016 election coverage.
The White House senior advisor met with Time Warner Inc.’s Gary Ginsberg and suggested the executive fire 20% of the team, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Kushner cited ‘they were wrong in their analysis of the election and how it would turn out.’
Sources told the newspaper Ginsberg rejected the proposition, while adding Kushner’s proposal was simply meant to prove a point.
During the campaign, the President’s son-in-law expressed his disapproval toward the media company, while Trump voiced the news outlet – among others – was ‘fake news’.
Kushner formerly confirmed to CNN president, Jeff Zucker, that Trump campaign affiliates would not appear in any broadcast segments, according to the newspaper.
The White House senior advisor met with Time Warner Inc.’s Gary Ginsberg (pictured) earlier this year
During the campaign, the President’s son-in-law expressed his disapproval toward the media company, while Trump voiced the news outlet, among others, was ‘fake news’
Since then, Kushner and executives have repaired a relationship in order to benefit both parties.
The report comes immediately after AT&T proposed acquisition over Time Warner Inc. – a plan being scrutinized by the U.S. Department of Justice.
CEO of AT&T, Randall Stephenson, said in a press conference Thursday he was ‘never told that the price of getting the deal done was selling CNN, period.’
He added: ‘Likewise, I have never offered to sell CNN … There is absolutely no intention that we would ever sell CNN.’
The U.S. Department of Justice demanded significant asset sales to approve the $85.4 billion deal, sources told Reuters.
The department asked AT&T to sell Turner Broadcasting or its DirecTV satellite TV operation in discussions on Monday.
‘There definitely would be a huge concentration of content and distribution in one company and the net effect of that, as many people have highlighted in the press and to the Justice Department, certainly could have negative impact on the consumer,’ Dish Network Corp Chief Executive Charlie Ergen said.