This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words resonated to many. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and largely reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a High-Stakes Battle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries 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 White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that company 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. 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 anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur 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 doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the newest merger game.
