This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message resonated to many. It is one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to prefer that bidder 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw 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, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
