On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate 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 business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems 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, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the newest merger game.
