Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the most recent merger game.
