Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists grounded and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a High-Stakes Battle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that company 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, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot 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 bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue remains.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the newest acquisition battle.
