On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Battle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.
A Further Factor: Political Influence
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
He has grounds to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent merger game.
