This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
