This Corporate Battle Over the Cable News Network Highlights How Broken US Media Now Is.

Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message resonated to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Business Struggle

Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

A Future of Continued Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, 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 not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

According to 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.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.

“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized 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 highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the newest acquisition battle.