This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor 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 installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest merger game.
