Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
