Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
