Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message resonated to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, 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 far from a secure position. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest merger game.
