This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message rang true to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Struggle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
