This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a High-Stakes Struggle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
