This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a High-Stakes Battle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation 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 key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
