"Nice network you got here. Be a shame if something were to happen to it."

Buried in a NYT article [1] on the conflict between the President and CNN:

'White House advisers have discussed a potential point of leverage over their adversary, a senior administration official said: a pending merger between CNN’s parent company, Time Warner, and AT&T. Mr. Trump’s Justice Department will decide whether to approve the merger, and while analysts say there is little to stop the deal from moving forward, the president’s animus toward CNN remains a wild card.'

So, just to be clear: the White House has discussed the possibility of using the pending AT&T / Time Warner merger as leverage to stifle CNN's criticism of Trump. Or, conversely, to make an example of CNN and its parent company to show other media outlets the cost of getting on the President's bad side.

Yeah, that doesn't sound at all problematic.

Even people who side politically with Trump over the Mainstream Media should see the dangers here for the press outlets they prefer, either under this or some future President.

(Mind you, I'm not particularly in favor of that merger, either, but not because I think the press needs to be taught a lesson in compliance to higher authority.)

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[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/business/media/jeffrey-zucker-cnn-trump.html

White House: If CNN Bashes Trump, Trump May Block Merger

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