On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Business Struggle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “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 sparring 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 come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the newest merger game.
