This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Struggle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media empires vie 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 corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex 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 punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that bidder 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, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
