On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Corporate Struggle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest merger game.
