This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War
But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: The Former President
The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to favor that suitor 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 conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
An Outcome of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
