This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led 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 placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
