On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Corporate Struggle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest merger game.
