Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional 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” antagonist.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
