This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the newest merger game.
