Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a High-Stakes Battle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as 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 unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that company 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
