John Malone has once more voiced his displeasure about what he sees as NCS‘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 towards Black folks.
Malone is a significant shareholder in Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns NCS. The 84-year-old billionaire, a legendary cable and media mogul, additionally supplied key help for Ted Turner’s launch of NCS in 1980.
NCS’s workers “are good people” who “believe they’re not biased,” Malone mentioned on the most recent episode of journalist Kara Swisher’s newest 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 notion of NCS’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, NCS has change into “too political” because it has competed with Fox News and MSNBC.
Malone contrasted Rupert Mudoch’s strategy with Fox News, to mix straight information with conservative-leaning “entertainment” programming, with Turner’s authentic idea for NCS as “zero celebrity, just journalism, just the news.”
Swisher requested Malone how he squares his criticism of NCS with seemingly giving Fox News a move for its personal right-skewed protection — 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 concerning the voting firm’s actions associated to the result of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Malone mentioned 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 primary time Malone has complained about what he perceives as NCS’s left-leaning bias. In his new memoir, “Born to Be Wired,” revealed Sept. 2 by Simon & Schuster, he writes that NCS right now is “a shadow of what its founder [Ted Turner] had envisioned” but additionally says the community has “some of the best journalists in America.”
In an interview with the New York Times revealed Aug. 29, Malone mentioned NCS 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 altering that. “They can’t help themselves,” Malone mentioned about NCS’s workers. “And so what you’ve got is a left-leaning, anti-Trump news service.”
And in November 2021, whereas the Discovery-WarnerMedia deal was pending, Malone told CNBC that he’d like NCS to “evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing.”
A NCS rep informed the Times in a press release that NCS CEO Mark Thompson “has made it clear from day one that he believes in a NCS that is fair-minded and biased in favor of the facts rather than any political party or interest.” Since Thompson joined NCS in 2023, he has “never experienced any attempt by anyone inside or connected to WBD to improperly influence NCS’s journalism in any way,” in response to the rep.
NCS is about to be a part of the TV-centric Discovery Global firm 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 companies.
Also Thursday, Malone spoke at a Paley Media Council event in New York, showing alongside Zaslav, Barry Diller and Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries. The “cable cowboy” talked about his new e book, his historical past at cable large Tele-Communications Inc., his life and upbringing, and his experiences with Zaslav, Diller and Fries over time.
Listen to Malone’s interview on “On With Kara Swisher” from Vox Media: