This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Business Struggle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate 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 aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is run 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.
