Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, 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 information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different 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? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
