This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where there exists grounded and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as 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 vulnerable situation as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory 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. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm 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, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
