Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and generally dependable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain Situation During a Business Struggle
Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, 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 helps the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about who will own 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 influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Additional Layer: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.
Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer that suitor 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.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Further Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.
“Our current system is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.
Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.
Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.
