On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a High-Stakes Battle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led 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 installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest merger game.
