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Comment by kenjackson | Hacker News Reader

I've heard that what Kushner wants is CNN. If they could make CBS+CNN lean conservative like Fox, they pull off a potential to swing the country via news media.

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That's a shitty gamble when online media is where it is at now a days. These big media networks are dinosaurs hanging on by a thread.

It might be. But if you're doing a short-term political power play (rather than a business investment), it could be a good tactical spend. And it might be a smart business investment if the political power play works in such way that you can politically bend the business environment in your favor.

And a cheap spend if you can scrounge the money in some roundabout way from Uncle Sam.

2028 is closer than you think. Dinosaur media still connect with dinosaur-voting audiences.

And none of this is serious money to the Saudis and MAGA billionaires. If controlling this media ekes out a couple of percent in the midterms, it’s money well spent. A few tens of billions against consolidating power and bigger grifts? High ROI investment.

Online media where they have x and Facebook already?

The people who vote are the people also glued to 24hr news.

Plus, they already own all of the online media. The important bits, anyway.

I think that's over-simplifying it. Some YouTube personality (or whatever we want to call 'online media' that isn't just CNN's website) isn't going to be getting a Whitehouse press pass anytime soon.

Oh, they absolutely are. As Leavitt promised at her first briefing, it’s been opened to: "independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers, and content creators."

Yes, all of them right-wing chuds.

A lot of YouTube political influencers have more viewers than CNN.

You haven’t read about what’s going on at the Pentagon wanted the press to sign a release saying only approved content could be published? It was so onerous that even Fox News refused to sign. Now the press Corp is basically a bunch of right wing influencers.

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/03/nx-s1-5630076/the-press-corps...

Just in case you think this is just another liberal hit piece, let me repeat that Fox News refused to sign the agreement.

There is a My Pillow network, and their person is in the Pentagon press pool.

https://lindelltv.com/lindelltv-press-corps/

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