Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Element: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal 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. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
An Outcome of Further Instability
It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in 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 will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.
