On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Battle
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. 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 illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from 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 Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.
