Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It is one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital 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 merger game.
