🔗 Share this article

On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious State During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Factor: The Former President

This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

A Future of Further Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem remains.

“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent merger game.