On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Corporate Struggle
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
