Ex-CBS chief: CBS, CNN "should be combined" (Dinosaur Watch)

Digital Spy (UK) ^ | 11-30-06 | James Welsh

[Tall_Texan]

Former CBS chief Mel Karmazin has told reporters that he long believed - and continues to believe - that CBS and CNN should merge.

Speaking at the Reuters Media Summit in New York City, Karmazin said: "I thought CBS News and CNN to this day should be combined. I was hoping that Dick [Parsons, Time Warner CEO] would buy [tri-state cable operator] Cablevision and need the cash, because Cablevision was much more strategic [to Time Warner], and then sell me CNN."

"When I was [CBS] CEO, would I have liked to have owned CNN?" he asked rhetorically. "Yeah."

Discussing the potential synergies of the CBS News unit and CNN's international operation, Karmazin further explained: "You’ve got a reporter sitting there from CBS News. You’ve got a reporter sitting all over the world from CNN. Maybe one reporter, one sound guy, one driver of the van, and that’s just the cost side.

"The value you create from putting these reporters that you’re not putting redundantly, putting these reporters in other parts of the world where you don’t have news bureaus or doing things you don’t have. I think M&A is fun."

[Tall_Texan]

I'm in favor this. Let CBS News, CNN, NBC and MSNBC all merge into one news division since they all take the same slant on every story.

[Mr. Mojo]

Why not? They're barely distinguishable right now.

[1rudeboy]

Nah, CNN would pull CBS (marginally) to the right.

[Grampa Dave]

Yep, lets just have: ABCNNBCBS presenting the lies, spin and DNC mantras of the day, week, month and year posing as news.

[Dont Mention the War]

It does make sense from a business point of view. CBS has no cable channel, and CNN has little penetration into broadcast. Plus CBS is by far the weakest network news operation, so they'd submit to their new CNN overlords pretty easily.

[MamaB]

That was my first thought.

[MamaB]

That was my first thought.

[Proud2BeRight]

Talk about a plane with two left wings......

[LdSentinal]

CBS and CNN should be combined -- and then shot into the Sun.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Those Yankees done screwed us again.

[appleharvey]

The moribund and the dead. Sounds like a good merger to me.

[Hegemony Cricket]

IF they were to merge (and quite frankly it would be CNN acquiring CBS), I have just one piece of advice for the chief of CNN when he evaluates CBS's evening news: "Be a Hero - Save the World From this Cheerleader".

[NonValueAdded]

Yeah, combined in the same grave.

[vox humana]

If CNN and CBS merge, the new acronym should be CNBS (Cable News BS).

[Tall_Texan]

LOL

[MinuteGal]

Maybe when I have a week or two at my disposal, I'll decode the last two paragraphs of the above article.

This guy is probably a millionaire from his power career, yet he can't string two words together gramatically.

Leni

[Tall_Texan]

I have no idea what "M&A" is. I know about "A&M"...

[Tamar1973]

They all sound the same anyway, and quite frankly, FOX News isn't too far behind.

[Izzy Dunne]

The value you create from putting these reporters that you’re not putting redundantly, putting these reporters in other parts of the world where you don’t have news bureaus or doing things you don’t have.

Uh, I'd like to buy a verb, Pat.

[Obie Wan]

Good evening viewers,this is Katie Couric reporting the latest news on CNBCNS network.That's all the time we have tonight because the title of this crummy network is so d*mn
long it uses up all the air time !!!