Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future 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.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of Continued Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.
If you ask 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 prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the most recent merger game.
