This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Corporate Battle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could 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 main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Element: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to 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 Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
