On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Further Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely 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 is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest corporate chess match.