Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where there exists grounded and generally dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, 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 helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump 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 top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
