Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during crises such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a Business Battle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that bidder 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility 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 relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.
