This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Battle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm 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, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
