This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” noted 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 – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the newest merger game.
