The Power Struggle Over CNN Shows The Extent to Which Flawed American Media Truly Is.

On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a Corporate Struggle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

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

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

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

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

A Further Layer: The Former President

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Future of More Instability

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

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.

“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the most recent merger game.