On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor 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.
An Outcome of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the latest merger game.
