Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It is one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
There is a basis to like 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.
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 More Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.
Measures that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
