The Tug-of-War For CNN Highlights How Broken US Media Has Become.

Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement rang true to many. It is one of the organizations where one can locate reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during crises like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position During a High-Stakes Battle

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

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

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

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of More Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

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

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the most recent merger game.