Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the newest merger game.
