Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where there exists grounded and largely reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Tug-of-War
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – 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 tools in the newest merger game.
