Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
