On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the outlets where you can find grounded and largely reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Struggle
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the shouts 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 press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. 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 company 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, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
