On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Battle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the newest merger game.
