This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Corporate Battle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
