On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where there exists grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Business Battle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that company 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 conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.