This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: Political Influence
This situation 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 chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
