On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Struggle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: The Former President
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump'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 says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that bidder 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.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent merger game.
