This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Struggle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest merger game.
