On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement resonated to many. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer 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.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. 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 head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest merger game.
