Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media conglomerates 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 mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor 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 conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest acquisition battle.
