This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and mostly reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive 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 insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
