This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting 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 it is by no means a perfect news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a High-Stakes Struggle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different 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 very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
