Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Struggle
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
