This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Business Battle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation 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. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off 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 pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
