This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Struggle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
