On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to prefer 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.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could set up 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 stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.
