Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Corporate Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Notably, 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 secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
