Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning 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.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Struggle
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant 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 major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.
