On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning 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 the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Business Tug-of-War
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.
