This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a Business Struggle
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led 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 conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent merger game.
