This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her words resonated to many. It remains one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Struggle
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“What we have now is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest acquisition battle.
