On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a High-Stakes Battle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to favor 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
