Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
