Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Corporate Battle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims 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 appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the newest corporate chess match.