This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Corporate Battle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest merger game.
