This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident 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.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run 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 installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
