This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message resonated to many. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a High-Stakes Battle
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years 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 – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor 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 installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur 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 not happen in the future.
Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
