Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message resonated to many. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and generally dependable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of More Instability
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.
