Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
