Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement resonated to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that bidder 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 appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised 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? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
