This Corporate Battle Over CNN Highlights The Extent to Which Dysfunctional US Media Has Become.

Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – particularly during crises like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a High-Stakes Battle

However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable situation as two giant media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

The conjecture about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Element: Donald Trump

The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

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

A Future of More Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Core Issue and a Way Ahead

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

“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Measures that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.