This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’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 outlets where you can find grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Business Struggle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims 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 support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent 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.
A Future of Continued Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, 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 set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.
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 competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
