Trump's Authoritarian Propaganda Machine

Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison have won the bid to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery in a $110 billion deal, edging out Netflix. The Ellisons, close allies of Donald Trump, are financing the purchase with $70 billion in debt, including roughly $25 billion from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. The final price of $31 per share was more than four times the recent low of Warner Brothers Discovery stock. What this means for American media is staggering. The Ellisons already control CBS and CBS News through their earlier $8 billion Paramount merger. This new deal adds CNN, HBO, HBO Max, DC Comics, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Comedy Central, Showtime, TNT, TBS, the Food Network, HGTV, Discovery, Adult Swim, OWN, The Learning Channel, Avatar Studios, and the Lord of the Rings and Mission Impossible franchises. Larry Ellison also holds a significant stake in TikTok through Oracle. Hawk outlines how Bari Weiss, placed in charge of CBS News and 60 Minutes, has already driven away viewers and credibility, including Anderson Cooper, who walked away from 60 Minutes after 19 years. The same playbook is expected to be applied to CNN. The deeper concern is the Ellisons' intent to gut creative talent and replace programming with AI-generated content to service the enormous debt load this deal carries. With Trump signaling regulatory approval, antitrust challenges are effectively neutralized. Scott Jennings and CNN's panel-yelling format come up as symbols of a media landscape already in decline. The consolidation of this much media power in the hands of Trump-aligned billionaires represents a fundamental threat to independent journalism and creative expression in America. #LarryEllison #DavidEllison #Ellison #WarnerBros #WarnerBrosDiscovery #CNN #Paramount #Netflix #AndersonCooper #BariWeiss #ScottJennings #JakeTapper #DonaldTrump #Trump #Oracle #TikTok #HBO #CBS #MediaConsolidation #AIContent #MediaOwnership #politics #politicalsatire #hawk #hawkpodcasts Timestamps 0:01 Paramount acquires Warner Brothers Discovery as Netflix drops out of the bid 1:25 The Ellisons pay $110 billion with $70 billion in debt including Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds 2:46 How the final share price was four times the recent stock low 3:32 Skydance's Paramount merger gave Ellisons CBS and now CNN is next 4:12 Anderson Cooper leaves 60 Minutes after 19 years over Bari Weiss takeover 5:13 Full list of media properties the Ellisons will now control 6:25 Elon Musk's Twitter takeover and its impact on San Francisco 8:33 Creatives will be fired and replaced with AI-generated programming 13:01 Jake Tapper breaks the news live on CNN that Paramount is the winning bidder 14:56 Scott Jennings, CNN's credibility problem, and the danger of billionaire media consolidation If you have the means and want to support Hawk you can become a Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCcrmvbQbfwSZaTgBZPrjMQ/join SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts/ - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk/ - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk (will be integrating this in the future) HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here: - https://www.hawkpodcasts.com or - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCcrmvbQbfwSZaTgBZPrjMQ/join - Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: • Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfy • Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuL • YouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts • iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdP • Pandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB • Simplecast: https://hawk-droppings.simplecast.com