This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
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 influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated 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 team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot 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 disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue 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 said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge 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, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
