This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader 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 explained.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember 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 says that the network requires 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 seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
