This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Business Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to favor 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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, 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 far from a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.
