Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement resonated to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during crises such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the newest acquisition battle.
