Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message resonated to many. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Corporate Struggle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate 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 financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to prefer 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, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently 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 Core Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
