On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates vie 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 mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Element: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent merger game.
