On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words rang true to many. It is one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Battle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says 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 one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from 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 won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
