Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a Business Battle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants 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 White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the latest merger game.
