This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Corporate Tug-of-War
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants 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 official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led 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 placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
