Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and largely reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that company 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest merger game.
