This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Business Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
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 anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines 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 build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.
