Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a High-Stakes Battle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More 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 not exactly a secure position. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the newest merger game.
