This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and largely reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Battle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said 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 protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the latest merger game.
