Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find grounded and generally dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Layer: Political Influence
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.
