This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and generally dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Battle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Element: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
