On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a High-Stakes Battle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor that suitor 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
