The CNN logo. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, Gunnar Wiedenfels, chief financial officer of Warner Bros. Discovery and incoming head of its soon-to-be cable spin-off, emailed CNN staffers in a ritual all too familiar to a workforce that has endured repeated corporate shakeups over the past decade: an incoming parent company boss trying to endear themselves to staffers before taking charge.
In his note, Wiedenfels hit all the expected marks. He described himself as a “deep admirer of CNN,” said he watches, reads, and listens “at home and on the road around the clock,” pledged his “full support,” vowed CNN would “continue to operate with full editorial independence,” expressed excitement for “where it is headed next,” and teased an upcoming town hall with network chief Mark Thompson.
The subject line of his memo? “Excitement for the Future.”
While the handsomely paid Wiedenfels may indeed be excited for what’s ahead—no doubt envisioning a hefty payday when this is all said and done—the mood inside CNN is markedly different. According to more than half a dozen staffers I spoke with on Thursday….
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Laura Loomer. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Loomer the Hall Monitor: The MAGA Media civil war continued apace on Thursday, with Laura Loomer entering the fray and announcing that she plans to tattle tell on “everyone” who has criticized Donald Trump on Iran. "I am screenshotting everyone’s posts and I’m going to deliver them in a package to President Trump so he sees who is truly with him and who isn’t," Loomer declared on X. "And I think by now everyone knows I mean it when I say I’m going to deliver something to Trump." Indeed, the last time Loomer slipped into the Oval Office, she succeeded in getting several National Security Council staffers fired for allegedly not being sufficiently loyal to Trump. "I am the loyalty enforcer," Loomer proudly said in her X post.
► While Loomer said she would report those who had criticized Trump, she also went off on…
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