On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
A Further Element: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like 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 placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Further Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
