On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position During a High-Stakes Struggle
However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent merger game.
