This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It is one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Corporate Battle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to 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 press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds 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.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot 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 harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
