Dave Portnoy says legacy media faces major distrust as CNN grapples with low morale

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said that there is “obviously big time distrust of legacy media” during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. 

Portnoy’s comments come in response to a Fox Digital report that CNN staffers are worried about the future of the former most-watched cable network. 

“It is obviously big-time distrust of legacy media,” Portnoy explained. “And there’s so many different ways to consume media. Whether that’s online podcasts, some of it good, some of it bad, to be honest, you just have to be really careful where you’re getting your information from. There’s so many different people speaking now, and people can access it in so many ways.”

CNN dominated the airwaves in the ’90s, leading coverage on Baghdad and the O.J. Simpson trial. Since then, prime-time viewership has plummeted from the Ted Turner-founded network to third in ratings.

On Monday, Variety reported that one of the network’s most notable stars, Anderson Cooper, hired high-powered Hollywood agent Bryan Lourd of Creative Artists Agency, which may indicate Cooper is either looking to bolster his contract with CNN or potentially leave the network altogether. 

Cooper has been at CNN for more than 23 years. 

One Cable News Network staffer also told Fox, “the mood remains really grim” and that “people are uncertain” about what may come after an expected corporate restructuring by their parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Portnoy explained his thinking behind the shift in media, saying the internet has played a large role in where people get their information. 

“The internet has given a way for people to fact-check and come to their own conclusions,” Portnoy added. “You just don’t have a couple of network TV anchors or chairs telling you what to think.”

The Barstool Sports empire is a leading example of the change in how people interact with the media. The mostly podcast and social media-driven strategy has propelled the sports outlet into a giant, with Dave manning at the helm. 

Portnoy’s infamous “one bite” pizza reviews are one of the many bits that put Barstool on the map, which feature Dave testing slices of pizza and rating them accordingly. Many of his reviews have gone viral, and his scores can make or break pizzerias in New York City and across the country. 

Following the success of the pizza reviews, Dave launched the “One Bite Pizza Festival” in 2023 in Brooklyn, and now plans to host the event for a third year in Randall’s Island Park this September for thousands to try his top-rated pizza choices. The event has sold out each time the festival has been held.

“Like if you like pizza, obviously if you don’t like pizza, forget about it, but everybody loves pizza,” Dave told Fox. “We have the best pizzerias, 40 plus. We’re always adding new ones. Like I just did this spectacular place series that went super-viral in New York City.”

“Tickets go on sale Friday, and then September 13th is the actual day, and if you like pizza you can’t miss it,” Dave added.

Creative Artists Agency did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.