This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message rang true to many. It remains one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest acquisition battle.
