On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor that suitor 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 placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
