On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Element: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes 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 protect 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 prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
