On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a High-Stakes Battle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional 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” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive 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. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, 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 far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. 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 top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.
