Report: CNN Leadership May Be Sticking Point For DOJ

There has been considerable speculation about potential changes at Time Warner and its subsidiaries if and when AT&T’s takeover of the content behemoth goes through, reports Vanity Fair.

Jeff Zucker

The merger would make AT&T the country’s largest media company, combining the telecom’s distribution infrastructure with prestigious properties ranging from HBO to TBS to Warner Brothers.

The most significant question, however, is what will happen to CNN, and in particular, its president, Jeff Zucker, should the Justice Department’s antitrust division approve the $85 billion deal.

There have been recent whispers that AT&T brass could “neutralize” Zucker as part of the reorganization as CNN continues to clash with President Donald Trump, who has frequently railed against the network as “fake news.”

Randall Stephenson

Before the election, Trump said that he would block the merger because it would give the company too much power.  Reports have surfaced that the administration is eyeing the deal as a possible point of leverage over CNN and Zucker.

At Vanity Fair’s fourth-annual New Establishment Summit in Beverly Hills on Wednesday morning, AT&T C.E.O. Randall Stephenson carefully sidestepped the question of Zucker’s future at the network. “We’re paying a premium to get Time Warner, and when you pay a big premium, the priority is to not screw it up,” he said. “CNN’s doing quite well, and the priority is to keep management teams in place.” Still, he warned, when a deal of such magnitude goes through, “there will invariably be changes, but the hope is to keep the team in place.”

A spokesperson for AT&T underlined Stephenson’s comment about keeping CNN’s current management. “That’s clearly speaks to CNN’s accomplishments and Jeff Zucker’s leadership,” this person said. “Same goes for the broader Time Warner leadership team.”