Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a flawless news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Business Struggle
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
A Further Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is led 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new 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 a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the most recent merger game.
