On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Battle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-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 Continued Instability
Notably, 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 not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent 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, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
