On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words resonated to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a High-Stakes Battle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
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 tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.
