During Time Warner's annual shareholders meeting on Thursday, CEO Jeff Bewkes was called out by a shareholder who accused CNN of unfair and unbalanced coverage of the Trump administration and blasted the network for being part of the anti-Trump "resistance."
David Almasi, a Time Warner shareholder, reportedly confronted Bewkes over CNN's one-sided coverage of President Trump and asked the CEO how his company can defend its decision to financially support The Public Theatre, which is presently staging a controversial version of "Julius Caesar" in which a Donald Trump look-alike is stabbed to death.
CEO defends decision to sponsor Trump assassination play
"We're certainly not going to drop our support for a theater that has done so much good work," Bewkes replied to Almasi, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Almasi, who represents the National Center for Public Policy Research -- a think tank that also owns shares of Time Warner stock -- also pressed Bewkes on CNN's decision to abandon objective reporting and how it would impact shareholders. Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.
"I'm inquiring about CNN's bias and our return on investment," Almasi said to Bewkes, pointing out that half of the network's audience voted for Donald Trump. "CNN acts as if it is part of the anti-Trump resistance," he stated, backing up his argument with statistical evidence.
Almasi pointed out a recent study by the Media Research Center, which found that CNN invited 96 panelists with anti-Trump points of view, compared to just seven pro-Trump panelists, during the network's coverage of the May 9 firing of James Comey.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Almasi's criticisms drew cheers from about half of the approximately 300 shareholders who had traveled to the Warner Bros.
studio lot in Burbank, California, for the annual meeting.
Bewkes, however, refuted Almasi's claim that CNN's coverage of the Trump administration has been predominantly negative. "We're going to try to be independent. I don't want you to be skeptical of our effort," replied Bewkes, who then attempted to reassure Time Warner shareholders by pointing out that CNN is enjoying record ratings.
Large protest planned for Saturday at CNN headquarters
Although Bewkes bragged about CNN's all-time high viewership since the presidential election, the cable news network has come under increased scrutiny over its coverage of the Trump administration, inspiring many right-leaning Americans to take action.
A demonstration at CNN headquarters in Atlanta is planned for Saturday by a group called Main Street Patriots, which, according to Breitbart News, aims to protest against CNN's "fake news" and "hate-filled rhetoric." The anti-CNN rally has gained momentum recently, with several other groups such as Bikers For Trump 2020 and Citizens For Trump indicating that they will take part in the Saturday protest.
