On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.
