Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message resonated to many. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Struggle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
