This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement rang true to many. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive 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 mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
