On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that company 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
