This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive 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-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
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 stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.
