This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press 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 support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
