This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and generally reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s 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 says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different 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? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
