Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Struggle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that company 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, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
