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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a Business Battle

But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

A Further Factor: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to like that company more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the latest acquisition battle.