This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find grounded and mostly reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Element: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from 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 top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent merger game.
