On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Struggle
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension 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 shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different 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 highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
