On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to favor 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, 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 not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
