This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly 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 lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.
