On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Precarious Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.
“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation 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 insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Uncertainty
Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.
The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.
“The present media landscape is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.
