This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory 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 insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Further Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
