Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident 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.
Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find grounded and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation 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. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, 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 secure position. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
