This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find grounded and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Business Battle
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims 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 appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor 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.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
