This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where you can find 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 During a Business Battle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis 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.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the latest merger game.
