Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a High-Stakes Battle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the latest merger game.
