This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find grounded and generally reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Struggle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
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 corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Remember 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 official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder 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 placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
