This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new 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? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.
