This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Element: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. 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 ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
