On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner 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 Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
