Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where you can find grounded and generally reliable reporting – notably during crises like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots 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 which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the latest merger game.
