This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement rang true to many. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Business Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
