This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
