This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Struggle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
