This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Battle
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, 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 set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the newest merger game.
