Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants 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 CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor 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.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
