On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where there exists grounded and largely reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a High-Stakes Battle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader 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 explained.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember 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 press briefings.
Trump now claims 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 appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
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 welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
