On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
