Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a High-Stakes Battle
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.
“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.
