This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find grounded and generally dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Struggle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking 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 academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Future of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to 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 head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund 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, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the newest corporate chess match.