On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It is one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Battle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect 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 too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
