This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Business Tug-of-War
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate 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.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that suitor 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, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.
