Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words resonated to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Business Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that suitor 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
