This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Battle
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of governmental choices,” noted 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 – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.
“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.
A Further Factor: The Former President
The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of 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 Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner 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.
An Outcome of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.
“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.
