This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the latest merger game.
