Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.
Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her message resonated to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists grounded and largely reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
A Vulnerable State Amid a Business Battle
But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media conglomerates battle over 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 mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.
“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor 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 gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.
A Further Factor: Donald Trump
The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.
Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.
Trump now claims that the network requires 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 support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
He has grounds to prefer that suitor 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, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.
A Possibility of Further Turmoil
Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.
In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic 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 the government,” Wu argued.
The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead
Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.
“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.
Measures that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.
Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent acquisition battle.
