Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Business Battle
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is led 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different 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? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
