This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and largely dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Battle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
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 shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
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 opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
