This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and largely dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Business Struggle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says 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 appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
