This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the outlets where you can find grounded and generally reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Business Tug-of-War
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
