This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Corporate Tug-of-War
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
