Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning 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.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Position Amid a Business Battle
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: Political Influence
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run 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 placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would 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 yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.
