This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason 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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal 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 prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the newest acquisition battle.
