This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement rang true to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Battle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
