This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message rang true to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Battle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
A Further Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Remember 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 press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.
