This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State 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 conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
