This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists grounded and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Struggle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
