Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Struggle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming 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 academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like 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, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Uncertainty
It is important to note, 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 far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
