On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his 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 insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the newest merger game.
