This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest merger game.
