On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that 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.
Trump has reason to favor that bidder 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
