This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and largely reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Struggle
However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
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 part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
