Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation 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 negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation 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 including CNN must not be tools in the latest merger game.
