🔗 Share this article

This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message resonated to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and largely dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

A Further Factor: Donald Trump

The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.

A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.

“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.