The Corporate Battle For the Cable News Network Highlights The Extent to Which Flawed US Media Now Is.

Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

A Further Factor: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Core Challenge and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.

“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.