Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts 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 says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason 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, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new 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? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.
