On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted 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.
There is a basis to like that suitor 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, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another 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 block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few 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 tools in the most recent merger game.
