On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about an incident 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.
Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally reliable reporting – notably during crises like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War
But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.
“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.
The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.
“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
The Additional Layer: The Former President
The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.
There is a basis to like that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.
A Future of More Instability
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.
According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution
No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.
“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.
Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the most recent merger game.
