🔗 Share this article

This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Battle

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

A Further Layer: Political Influence

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to prefer 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, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Future 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 far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Challenge and a Path Forward

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.

“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

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