Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Business Struggle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to favor 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.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
