The Power Struggle For CNN Shows The Extent to Which Broken American Journalism Truly Is.

Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Element: Political Influence

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

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension 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. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

There is a basis to prefer 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.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of Further Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm 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, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.