CNN likes to label itself as “the most trusted name in news,” but at least one school board has decided that is more akin to the most biased name in news.
In a 5-4 vote this week, the Norwin School District of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, voted to ban CNN10 from playing in its classrooms, The Gazette reported.
Already, teachers were utilizing homeroom time to show videos aside from the 10-minute CNN broadcast, according to seventh grade global studies teacher Megan Zobb. The teacher informed the board as such, also discouraging a ban on television altogether.
Directors Christine Baverso, Alexander Detschelt, Shawna Ilagan, Raymond Kocak, and Robert Wayman were the five who voted to remove CNN 10 on Monday. Directors Darlene Ciocca, William Essay, Patrick Lynn, and Joanna Jordan were the four votes against its removal.
Detschelt promised to ban the channel promptly after winning his election in 2021. During the meeting, Detschelt said it “leaves the door open” for a “news channel run by students in the middle school.”
The CNN10 programing was both attacked and defended at the school board meeting.
Ashley Egan of North Huntingdon said that broadcasting shows that are associated with CNN is “feeding him (her son) every day that CNN is a label you can trust.”
She said there are too many references by speakers on the network that ask the students “visit our friends on CNN.com.”
“That is not unbiased,” she said.
Tammy Marino of Irwin said that she did not believe students should be exposed to that programming.
“This community voted for change,” she said, referring to the 2021 election of Detschelt and other conservatives.
Detschelt argued for the removal of the network from the classroom in January.
“I just feel that maybe we can– concentrate our efforts in reviewing what we consider approved curriculum and what we do not. So, along those lines, I wish to make a motion to remove CNN 10 from the classroom,” the board member said.
The news comes as Allison Gollust, the former lieutenant to Jeff Zucker, resigned after an investigation “into issues associated with” Chris Cuomo, a former CNN anchor, and his brother Andrew, the former governor of New York, a memo sent to staffers by WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said, CNN reported.
“Based on interviews of more than 40 individuals and a review of over 100,000 texts and emails, the investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN’s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo,” he said to staffers.
“We have the highest standards of journalistic integrity at CNN, and those rules must apply to everyone equally,” he said. “Given the information provided to me in the investigation, I strongly believe we have taken the right actions and the right decisions have been made.”
Gollust issued a statement announcing her departure from the company on Tuesday.
“WarnerMedia’s statement tonight is an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks,” she said. “It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave. But I do so with my head held high, knowing that I gave my heart and soul to working with the finest journalists in the world.”
