Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message resonated to many. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of More Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix prevails, 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 hardly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, 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 Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest acquisition battle.
