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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Margaret Sullivan

CBS News is convulsing as Larry Ellison tries to please Trump

person wearing glasses and black shirt looks at camera
‘I’ve heard fascism described as the dangerous combination of state power and corporate power. And here we are.’ Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Anderson Cooper decides to walk away from broadcast TV’s most prestigious news show, 60 Minutes. Stephen Colbert takes his interview with a rising Democratic politician to YouTube instead of his own late-night show. The CBS Evening News anchor presents a misleading version of the network’s own exclusive reporting on Ice arrests. And a news producer writes a farewell note to her CBS News colleagues blaming the loss of editorial independence.

If you connect the dots, the picture of what’s happening at CBS becomes all too clear. That picture comes into even sharper focus once you recall an underlying factor: the network’s parent company is trying to get a big commercial deal done and needs the help of the Trump administration to bring it over the finish line.

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