This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her words rang true to many. It remains one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent merger game.
