Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Business Tug-of-War
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, 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 serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: Donald Trump
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” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer 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.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask 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 prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address 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 is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the newest merger game.
