This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words rang true to many. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a High-Stakes Struggle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: The Former President
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts 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 White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run 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 placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the latest merger game.
