On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement rang true to many. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and generally reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Battle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
