A cable titan says the current state of media ‘is not good for democracy’
John Malone on the rise of cable TV and its future
When you think of cable moguls, you probably think of Ted Turner or Rupert Murdoch. John Malone is not a household name, but he should be. Working with the first generation of “cable cowboys,” Malone played a leading role in transforming cable television into what it is today.
Malone doesn’t do much media, and is a recluse by his own admission, but joined us from his home in Maine for a lengthy interview about his new memoir, “Born to Be Wired,” during which we discussed the rise of the cable news industry in the 20th century, and the state of American media and politics today.
"Now we have a system where you can listen to whatever version of the news makes you happy,” said “This is not good for democracy."
During his long career, Malone often found the government’s efforts to regulate the cable industry overbearing and misguided. But today, he is a vocal advocate for stricter regulation of Big Tech.
“These guys are all largely brain chemists,” said Malone. “They understand addiction.”
“The chairman of Coke told me one time that all great fortunes are made on addictive substances. And he was talking about the power of caffeine and sugar. So these are addictive services that people are providing.”
Still, Malone hailed the leaders of Big Tech—Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Elon Musk— as “geniuses.”
"They should be the heroes of a capitalistic society,” he said.
Malone has been critical of CNN’s coverage, which he says is biased. When asked how CNN should cover a president like Trump who rejects accountability, he said, “This is very tough.”
“As hard as they try, it's difficult for them to separate their point of view. And so the question really is, do you balance this by having an opposite channel? But then that becomes, you know, you listen to the choir.”
“We're ending up with a shallower, less well-informed public.”
Malone is just as dour about the state of our politics. He says that the problems of society are “way over the head of a politically elected group in Congress,” which has been “punting” its duties to the president for years.
“You're really heading toward executive branch totalitarianism,” said Malone.
Although he identifies himself as a problem-solver in his book, Malone acknowledges he has no solution in mind for America’s political divisions. He suggests the country needs a president like Ronald Reagan who can work across the aisle with the other party, and that is not the current president’s style.
“I like [President Trump’s] policies, but his style is so disruptive and divisive that I'm not sure at the end of the day the country can survive it.”
Check out a preview here and the full episode on PBS, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky for our latest clips.
CNN has a liberal bias? lol. They have poisonous Scott Jennings on the payroll for commentary and no equivalent on the left w such venom. The American people don’t agree with Malone’s politics and policy preferences and no amount of money or control of the media is going to change that but will continue to seed distrust and make our problems worse.
Yup.