On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder 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 historic news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
