On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about 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.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust 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 Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
