Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, 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 flawless news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Corporate Tug-of-War
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate 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 aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the latest merger game.
