This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and largely reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Corporate Battle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to like 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could 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 another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
