On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message rang true to many. It is one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Struggle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – 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 tools in the newest merger game.
