This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and largely reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Struggle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: Political Influence
The network's predicament 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 his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like that suitor 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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Challenge and a Path Forward
Whatever happens in this situation, the larger issue persists.
“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
