This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor 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, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
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 stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
