This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It is one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor 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 installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest merger game.
