On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Business Tug-of-War
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the latest merger game.
