On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media empires vie 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 serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
