This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Corporate Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
