This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It is one of the outlets where there exists grounded and mostly reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Business Struggle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor 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, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
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 block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address 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 is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest merger game.
