Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the newest merger game.
