Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her statement resonated to many. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins 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 – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Element: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts 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 come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future 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 recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
