This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words resonated to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Corporate Battle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in 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 gets presented as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst 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 opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
