On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Struggle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’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 CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield 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 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the newest merger game.
