Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Battle
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Layer: The Former President
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.
