This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
