Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp 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 societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.
