Late Thursday, as rumors swirled concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.
While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words rang true to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable Situation Amid a High-Stakes Struggle
But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant 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 business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.
“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.
The speculation about which company will control 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 powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.
The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump
The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
There is a basis to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning 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 independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu stated.
The Core Problem and a Path Forward
Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.
“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent merger game.
