The Corporate Battle For the Cable News Network Reveals The Extent to Which Flawed American Journalism Now Is.

This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation During a High-Stakes Battle

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

No matter the result, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of governmental choices,” said 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 – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

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

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix wins, 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 structure could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

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 disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem endures.

“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm 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, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.