On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where you can find grounded and mostly dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Corporate Battle
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts 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. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, 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 address it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
