On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists grounded and largely dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
