🔗 Share this article

This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during crises like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Tug-of-War

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

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

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.

An Outcome of More Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.

The Core Issue and a Potential Solution

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

“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.