Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during crises like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Business Tug-of-War
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that company 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair 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 support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
