Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and generally reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Business Struggle
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is run 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent merger game.
