On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, 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 hardly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
