On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Battle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, 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.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new 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 is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.
