Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. 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 recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
