Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger 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.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
