On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest acquisition battle.
