Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Battle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for a future 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 recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.
