Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Struggle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is led 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
