Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a High-Stakes Battle
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Element: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that bidder 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, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied 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. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot 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.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent merger game.
