Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Additional Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
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 hardly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
