Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement resonated to many. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Business Struggle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring 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 criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of 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 top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
