On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Element: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's 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 asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.
