On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the organizations where you can find grounded and largely dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new 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 a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the newest merger game.
