This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Struggle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
