Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and mostly reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position During a Business Tug-of-War
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that bidder 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.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the latest corporate chess match.
