This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Battle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
