Why did ABC News throw in the towel? It‘s hard to know for sure, but gets easier if you are aware that the news organizations is owned by Disney, a huge corporation with a lot of turf to protect. As the Times reported, the Disney executive who oversees ABC News had dinner with Trump’s top aide, Susan Wiles, just days before the settlement, as “part of a visit by several ABC News executives to Florida to meet with Mr. Trump’s transition team.”
Was
this settlement, which includes ABC’s public expressions of regret, a
simple case of kissing the ring? It sure looks that way. Trump has sworn
to get revenge on his enemies and he values, above all, loyalty and
kowtowing.
But loyalty and kowtowing isn’t the
job of the press, which is supposed to represent the public in holding
powerful people and institutions accountable.
-- Margaret Sullivan, "ABC News caved when it settled with Trump" (SUBSTACK).