On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message rang true to many. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield 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 unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
