The Corporate Battle For CNN Reveals The Extent to Which Dysfunctional US Journalism Has Become.

On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Business Battle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Layer: Political Influence

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

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.

An Outcome of More Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Core Issue and a Path Forward

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.