🔗 Share this article

Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Struggle

Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Additional Factor: The Former President

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

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is run 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.

An Outcome of Continued Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the latest merger game.