On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement resonated to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position During a Business Battle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to 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 press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that 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.
There is a basis to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
According to 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 anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest merger game.
