Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen 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 not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the latest merger game.
