On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, 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 hardly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
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 disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC 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 support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest merger game.
