This Tug-of-War For CNN Shows How Flawed American Media Truly Is.

This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle

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

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Additional Element: Political Influence

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to favor that bidder more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

A Future of More Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Problem and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis persists.

“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

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

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN cannot be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.