The presidential debate is as much a trial of CNN as it is the candidates

When President Joe Biden and Donald Trump sit down in CNN's Atlanta studios on Thursday night, the eyes of an anxious and electorally fatigued nation will be on the two candidates as they dive in for the first of their two scheduled presidential debates. But while each man — to say nothing of the country as a whole — has an enormous personal and professional investment in how Thursday night's debate plays out, there will be another stakeholder in the room as well: CNN itself.

Faced with sliding ratings and relentless hostility from a right wing animated by Trump's regular claims of media bias, the once-dominant network is under tremendous pressure not only to deliver a worthwhile debate for viewers and voters, but to fortify its standing as a news enterprise altogether. Although Trump and Biden will be the center of attention all night, it's CNN, along with debate moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, which may need a flawless performance most of all. 

'CNN has to reassert itself'

Thursday night is "expected to generate big ratings for CNN" but also "open it up to criticism" over both its unilateral "control over the format" and contentious history with Trump, The Wall Street Journal said. It's a dynamic the network is aware of. "I think we're going to hear ourselves and read about ourselves all week," CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a Monday staff meeting. "There's some inevitable consequences of that. Not everything we read will be entirely positive."

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Hosting the "earliest presidential debate ever" is "obviously a huge privilege and a huge responsibility" for CNN, agreed network Vice President David Chalian to The Associated Press. At the same time, the "stakes are highest for Donald Trump and Joe Biden. They're the participants in this debate." And no matter how much a solid broadcast could benefit the network, "It's not as if one big debate night will turn around CNN's fortunes," Poynter said. In particular, the network is making the debate "available to other news outlets for simulcast," meaning that while Trump and Biden themselves are on the screen, CNN's logo will be too, but "for pre- and post-debate coverage, for instance, the viewers will likely retreat to where they generally get their news."

This debate marks a "huge moment for CNN," said former network Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno to the AP. "CNN has to reassert itself" and "show that it led a revolution in news before and can do it again."

'The onus will be on the viewer'

The dynamics that led to CNN hosting and moderating the debate, rather than the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates which had done so for nearly four decades prior, are something "we should have seen" coming, Variety said. That was particularly true after 2020 when Trump and Biden "abandoned their final CPD debate in favor of dueling town halls" hosted by different networks. In that context, candidates would "rather play to their constituencies and avoid some of the hidebound architecture of the traditional debate logistics." By that same logic, Thursday's debate shows "networks would rather air a rival's broadcast, then customize the experience leading up to and after it with content of their specific design." The end result is that the "onus will be on the viewer, the potential voter, to get what they can out of the whole affair."

Which isn't to say CNN doesn't still have enormous leverage. Not only will it be CNN anchors moderating but the "format was picked by CNN (and agreed to by Biden and Trump)," including the use of a mute button if things get out of hand, Poynter said. "It does matter to CNN."

Still, by ensuring a smooth affair on Thursday, CNN can "open some eyes and remind people of CNN's legacy," the AP said. Conversely, a poor showing would be a "stain that could take years to wash away."