On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Business Battle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer 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, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
