This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Battle
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that bidder 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.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur 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 prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
