On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Battle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Element: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that suitor 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, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might 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.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely 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 should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the most recent merger game.
