On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during crises like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Battle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts 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 White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, 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 far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
