This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Battle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, 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 structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
