Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
