On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where there exists grounded and mostly reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like that company 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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
