Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the newest merger game.
