Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest merger game.
