🔗 Share this article

On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her words resonated to many. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Battle

But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

A Further Element: Donald Trump

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s 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 the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to like 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.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of Continued Instability

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.

“Our current system is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.