Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Struggle
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. 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 competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
