The Corporate Battle Over CNN Shows How Dysfunctional US Media Has Become.

This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement resonated to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during breaking news situations like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a High-Stakes Battle

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

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

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Layer: Political Influence

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

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to like that bidder 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, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Continued Instability

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

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

“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.