Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate to many. It is one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” 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 – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension 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 insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
