On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of 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 lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent merger game.
