This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her message rang true to many. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, 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 not exactly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
