This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader 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 said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
