This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about 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.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where there exists grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor that company 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address 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 not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
