Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Business Tug-of-War
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the newest merger game.
