The Tug-of-War Over CNN Reveals How Flawed US Journalism Truly Is.

On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled concerning an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, her statement resonated to many. It is one of the outlets where you can find grounded and largely reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Tug-of-War

However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Layer: Political Influence

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

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

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to favor that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

An Outcome of More Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis persists.

“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.