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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Business Tug-of-War

Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a broader point.

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

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

Think back to the chants 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 asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to prefer 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, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of More Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome in this situation, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN must not be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.