Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is run 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 editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might 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. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
