Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Battle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest acquisition battle.
