On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and generally reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
