This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It remains one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of 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? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his 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. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic 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 contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
