This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Corporate Tug-of-War
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly 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 editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
