On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a High-Stakes Battle
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised 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? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
