This Tug-of-War Over the Cable News Network Shows The Extent to Which Flawed US Journalism Truly Is.

This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during crises like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Corporate Tug-of-War

But CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Factor: Donald Trump

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

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

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Issue and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pieces in the most recent merger game.