This Was CNN

How Sex, Lies, and Spies Undid the World's Worst News Network

By: Kent Heckenlively, Cary Poarch

Narrated by: Chris Abell

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A CNN insider reveals what he saw behind the scenes at the cable news giant and the investigation that revealed even more shocking secrets.

Cary Poarch started working at CNN in the summer of 2017 as a die-hard Bernie Sanders supporter. But on his first location shoot during the Charlottesville riots, he quickly became disillusioned with how the network created the “fine people” hoax.

This began a political odyssey as he documented numerous incidents of outright bias, eventually leading him to contact James O’Keefe of Project Veritas. For months, Cary Poarch documented CNN’s rampant political bias for Project Veritas, and saw how the network was dividing the country. When the story was released by Project Veritas, it was seen by millions.

This book continues his investigation and uncovers even more shocking information about the behavior of network personnel, CNN’s ties to the Biden White House, CNN’s creation of a terrifying digital warfare capacity, and the possible penetration of CNN by our own intelligence agencies.

Cary partnered with two time New York Times bestselling author, Kent Heckenlively, and together they uncovered even more shocking secrets about “the most trusted name in news.

©2022 by Kent Heckenlively and Cary Poarch (P)2023 by Blackstone Publishing

Government infiltrating the people

This was fantastic journalism. The information was provided, author opinion given, and reasons why the author's assessment could be wrong. On the facts presented, this is a historically necessary piece. The winners write the history, and the convicted will seek whole truth.

You're Going To Be Reading A Lot Of Linkedin

What should have been an exciting journey turns out to be, well, dry and difficult.

The authors start with a condescending intro that most of us have no idea who Ted Turner is. Instead of informing, the authors ridicule their readers. The tone of the book is arrogant.

At points the narration just gets weird. One of the authors writes about himself in the third person, while the other editorializes on the experiences of the first. Really, it gets strange.

But, at least the first half of the book had some stories to hold your interest. Later in the book, to fill pages, we are reduced to being read lots (lots) of LinkedIn profiles. This is to prove the bias of the people at CNN. But it just goes on and on.

At the end of the day, as one who probably shares some of the authors disappointment in CNN, the book itself does not live up to the journalistic standards it accuses CNN of not holding to.