On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the most recent merger game.
