On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a Corporate Battle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions 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 retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor 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 ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the newest merger game.
