This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation 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 journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump 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 lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
