Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during crises like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Business Struggle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation 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. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like that suitor 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 placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of More Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, 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 hardly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
