This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find grounded and largely reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest merger game.
