Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Business Battle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, 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 not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest merger game.
