Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Battle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
This situation 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 cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
