This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the latest merger game.
