This Corporate Battle Over the Cable News Network Reveals How Dysfunctional American Journalism Now Is.

Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message rang true to many. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle

Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into 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 deep structural problems with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Layer: Political Influence

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of More Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

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 prohibit both deals.

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

The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.

“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

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

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.