Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used 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 resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and largely reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Battle
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal 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.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
