On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words resonated to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Corporate Struggle
However CNN, 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.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation 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 corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Additional Layer: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension 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. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect 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 hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, 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 far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
