Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated to many. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Business Battle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, 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, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, 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 not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent merger game.
