Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a Corporate Struggle
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries 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 press briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the most recent merger game.
