🔗 Share this article

On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the organizations where you can find grounded and mostly dependable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Struggle

Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny 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.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Layer: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.

A Possibility of More Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem endures.

“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.