Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her words resonated to many. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find grounded and generally dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media empires vie 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 serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the most recent merger game.
