🔗 Share this article

Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words rang true to many. It is one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Additional Factor: Donald Trump

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

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to prefer 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of Further Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Issue and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the most recent merger game.