Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Battle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes 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 criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is led 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
