On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Business Struggle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, 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 become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
