On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Position Amid a Corporate Battle
But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Layer: The Former President
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Continued Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem persists.
“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the newest merger game.
