Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Battle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Element: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to favor that suitor 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, 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 not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the most recent merger game.
