The Corporate Battle For CNN Reveals The Extent to Which Dysfunctional US Media Has Become.
This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Struggle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge 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, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
