On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of 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 Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Future of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development 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 a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent acquisition battle.
