On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to prefer that company 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.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue remains.
“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
