Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State Amid a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to like 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, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. 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 competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent merger game.
