The Power Struggle Over the Cable News Network Highlights The Extent to Which Dysfunctional US Journalism Now Is.

On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her words seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during crises like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Struggle

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Layer: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to favor that bidder 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.

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

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 far from a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

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

The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution

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

“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.