Trump Suggests AT&T Boycott Over CNN Coverage
June 03 2019 - 10:08AM
Dow Jones News
By Drew FitzGerald
President Trump suggested customers stop using AT&T Inc.'s
services to force its CNN unit to cover him more favorably,
renewing his attacks on the cable news network in a pair of
tweets.
The president wrote on Twitter that AT&T "would be forced to
make big changes" at CNN if people stopped subscribing to the
company's services, and that CNN "is dying in the ratings anyway."
He added: "When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of
USA. Sad."
The president was writing Monday during a state visit to the
United Kingdom, where rival Fox News isn't generally carried. Fox
Corp. and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp. share common
ownership.
The tweets revived a topic that has frustrated AT&T
executives since they first announced their plans to acquire CNN
along with other cable channels and film-and-TV studio assets in
late 2016.
Then-candidate Trump said at the time he wouldn't allow the
telecom giant to buy CNN owner Time Warner because it would put too
much power in the hands of a single company.
The U.S. Department of Justice later sued to block AT&T's
purchase of the media company on antitrust grounds. The companies
tried to make allegations of improper political interference a
plank of their defense but were blocked by the federal judge
overseeing the case.
AT&T won the case anyway last June, allowing the cellphone
carrier and pay-TV provider to become a major player in the
American media landscape.
An AT&T spokesman declined to comment.
Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 03, 2019 09:53 ET (13:53 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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