This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Uncertainty
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 hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
