Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Battle
However the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about which company will control 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 powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.
The Additional Element: Donald Trump
This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.
A Future of Further Instability
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.
“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.
“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.
Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.
In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the newest merger game.
