The Power Struggle For CNN Shows How Dysfunctional American Media Now Is.
On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into 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 roots in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, 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 not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, 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 opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different 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 highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the newest merger game.
