Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words resonated to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Struggle
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
