On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and generally dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Turmoil
Notably, 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 safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
