On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message rang true to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Battle
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state 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 mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
