An Open Letter to the Reporters and Staff of CNN

By Ben Meiselas

Editorial credit: Montage created with image from Ben Von Klemperer / Shutterstock.com

The announced acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Global and reports that Bari Weiss is expected to oversee CNN’s operations is not just another corporate shakeup.

I want to be very clear about what is going on. We are witnessing a turning point, and we cannot take this moment lightly.

This is a defining moment for you.

You’ve watched what happened at CBS News as it became state regime media.

Under the guise of seeking balance, they surrendered. They capitulated.

That’s why I want to be very clear about the current stakes.

Donald Trump is not a normal political figure. He is openly fascist. He threatens prosecutors, judges, political opponents, and journalists. He calls the press “the enemy of the people.” He vows retribution, and put his threats of retribution into action numerous times since he took office.

That is not partisan spin. It’s not about Democrats vs. Republicans. It has nothing to do with my or anyone’s personal feelings about Donald Trump. This is documented behavior. He behaves like Putin.

When a political movement seeks to dismantle democratic guardrails, undermine elections, purge civil servants, and intimidate the free press, “both-sides” coverage becomes complicity. Worse yet, CBS isn’t even doing “both-sides” coverage. Like Fox, they are doing coverage for the regime.

We are living through an assault on democracy and a coordinated attack on the free press as an institution.

The question for you is simple:

Will CNN become another outlet that promotes “fascism” while democracy dies? Or will it empower journalists willing to call authoritarianism exactly what it is?

At MeidasTouch, we have made our position clear. We do not both-side attacks on democracy. We do not sanitize threats to journalists. We do not pretend that efforts to dismantle the rule of law are just “controversial policy debates.”

We call it what it is.

And that is precisely why we are growing.

We are expanding our newsroom. We are investing in investigative reporting. We are building a network that answers to the audience.

If you believe that democracy must be defended plainly and forcefully and if you are prepared to report on Trump’s authoritarian agenda without euphemism or false equivalence — we want to talk if, and when, you are allowed to, and if you are ready.

If you’re looking to preserve access, smooth edges, or soften language to make power more comfortable, we are not the place for you.

This is not a normal moment in American history. It demands clarity. It demands backbone. It demands journalists who understand that neutrality between democracy and fascism is not objectivity. It is moral failure.

History will remember which institutions stood firm — and which ones bent.

If you are ready to be fearless, you know where to reach me.

We are building the future of media now.

And we will not flinch in the face of fascism.