On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Business Struggle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs 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 aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like that bidder 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, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off 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 position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the latest merger game.
