This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and generally dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author 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 broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that bidder 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Further Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – 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 refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
