On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists grounded and largely dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Battle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason 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 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.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
