Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists grounded and mostly dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary 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. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. 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.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.
