This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the latest merger game.
