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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a Business Struggle

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

No matter the result, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“It is often framed as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Additional Layer: The Former President

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

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

A Possibility of Further Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

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

“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Core Issue and a Way Ahead

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

“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

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

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

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.