This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It is one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly 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 top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address 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 should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.
