On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated 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 recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
