On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find grounded and largely dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Business Battle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different 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 is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
