On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message resonated to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – particularly during fast-moving events such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.
“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Factor: Political Influence
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries 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 the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to favor that company more. For one thing, it is led 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 storied news network.
A Possibility of More Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the latest merger game.
