This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during crises such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Battle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
