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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find fact-based and generally trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues 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 debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a larger point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

The Additional Factor: Political Influence

The CNN scenario 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 cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

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

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

An Outcome of Continued Instability

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, 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 argued.

The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.

“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely 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 is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

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