On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Struggle
Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.
Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.
“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.
A Further Layer: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.
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 White House briefings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.
Trump has reason to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led 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 appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.
An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty
Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Issue and a Potential Solution
Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.
Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.
Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be tools in the most recent merger game.
