Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and mostly dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Battle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that bidder 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.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
