Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Business Tug-of-War
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
