Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and largely reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Element: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that company 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 editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Further Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
