This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Battle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, 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 far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
