This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed 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: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants 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 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 part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen 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 is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the newest merger game.
