With AT&T-Time Warner Deal Brewing, a Focus on Preserving CNN’s Integrity

In its 130-year history, AT&T has transitioned from a telegraph service to a wireless provider to a global communications behemoth. Now, one of America’s oldest corporations is about to take on what may be its trickiest identity yet: journalist.

Assuming its $85 billion merger with Time Warner is cleared, AT&T will soon find itself in charge of CNN, the cable news stalwart whose profitability — itself a crucial lure for suitors of Time Warner — relies on an international reputation for legitimate reporting. The difficulties of defending tough reporting and shielding journalists from powerful antagonists can be hard for any corporation to stomach. And while AT&T gained a foothold in the television industry by acquiring DirecTV in 2015, the company has no journalistic lineage, meaning its executives will have to face these challenges on the fly.