This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and generally reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest merger game.
