This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists grounded and mostly reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Business Battle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run 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 editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to 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 endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.
