Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the latest merger game.
