Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate reality-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to like that bidder 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.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Future of Continued Instability
Significantly, if Netflix prevails, 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 secure position. That setup could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis endures.
“Our current system is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the newest corporate chess match.
