This Corporate Battle Over the Cable News Network Reveals The Extent to Which Dysfunctional US Media Now Is.

On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used 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 words seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and generally dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State During a High-Stakes Battle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, 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,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Additional Factor: Political Influence

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to favor 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.

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

A Future of More Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

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

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.