The Power Struggle For the Cable News Network Reveals How Flawed American Journalism Has Become.

This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate grounded and mostly reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a Business Tug-of-War

But the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

“It gets presented as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

A Further Factor: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

Think back to 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 White House briefings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Future of More Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

If you ask 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 detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem endures.

“What we have now is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest merger game.