On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Business Battle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.
