This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author 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? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor 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 installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust 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 Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest merger game.
