This Tug-of-War Over CNN Highlights How Flawed US Media Now Is.

Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

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

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is hardly any discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Factor: Donald Trump

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Remember the shouts 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 asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to prefer that suitor 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.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

A Future of Continued Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.