This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
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” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory 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 insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
