This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
