Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Business Battle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted 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 is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the newest merger game.
