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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State During a Corporate Battle

But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk 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 origins in many years of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Element: Political Influence

This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs 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.

He has grounds to prefer that bidder 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Further Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

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

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

The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.

“The present media landscape is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.