Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during crises like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Corporate Battle
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer 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, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest merger game.
