🔗 Share this article

Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Battle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

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

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

A Further Factor: Political Influence

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

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

He has grounds to favor that company more. For one thing, it is led 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 conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Further Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.

“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.