This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation 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.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major 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 many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised 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? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
