Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.
