But while Gollust was assisting the network’s programming side, that day she crossed over into advocating for the business interests of CNN’s parent company, texting a request that the governor speak to WarnerMedia’s studio chief, Ann Sarnoff.

“She’s bummed you don’t open theaters in NY, but perhaps you can hear her out,” Gollust said in the message, which was read to Semafor by a person with firsthand access to the exchange. …

Reopening theaters was a priority at the time for WarnerMedia. At the behest of director Christopher Nolan, the company was trying to juice ticket sales for Tenet, his trippy, big-budget science fiction epic, which the studio had hoped would be its summer blockbuster — even as CNN warned Americans about the threat of Covid-19. Theaters had reopened on a state-by-state basis, and New York’s governor had lagged behind other states that had allowed audiences back in. Just a few weeks after the call with Sarnoff, the then-governor announced that most theaters in the state outside New York City would reopen.

[As Tani himself remarks, this will look a bit like old news, given what we’ve already known about the corruption of CNN via the Cuomos. However, it does remind everyone that the recently banished Chris Licht didn’t create CNN’s ratings or credibility issues, but that he merely couldn’t fix them. — Ed]