🔗 Share this article

On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position During a High-Stakes Battle

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

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

The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

A Further Layer: Donald Trump

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of More Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.

The Core Challenge and a Path Forward

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

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

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest acquisition battle.