This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Corporate Struggle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced 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 White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
