On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where you can find grounded and largely dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Business Battle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, 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 governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is run 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
