Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find grounded and largely dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, 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 far from a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
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 disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest merger game.
