On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Business Struggle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Element: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor 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.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create 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? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
