This Tug-of-War For CNN Reveals The Extent to Which Flawed US Media Has Become.
Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where there exists grounded and largely dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex 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 punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that bidder 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, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised 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 highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.