On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It is one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to favor that bidder 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
