On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Business Struggle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
