Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from 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 refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
