This Tug-of-War Over CNN Shows The Extent to Which Dysfunctional American Media Has Become.

This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Struggle

Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

A Further Element: The Former President

The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to favor 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.

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

A Possibility of More Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Core Issue and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.