Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Business Battle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive 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 negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic 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 opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
