Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious 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 become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries 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 says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative 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 is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
