On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Business Struggle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, 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.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal 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. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
