This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the newest merger game.
