Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Business Battle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
