This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where you can find grounded and mostly reliable reporting – notably during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor that suitor 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 top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
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 anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – 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 top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the most recent merger game.
