Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the latest merger game.
