Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Struggle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like that bidder 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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the newest merger game.
