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On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where you can find grounded and mostly reliable reporting – particularly during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Battle

But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than 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, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

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

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

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

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Core Problem and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.