Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message resonated to many. It remains one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Corporate Struggle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.
