On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her message resonated to many. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Corporate Struggle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor 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 installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – 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? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent merger game.
