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

Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where there exists reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation Amid a High-Stakes Battle

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

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

The Additional Factor: The Former President

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

There is a basis to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

A Future of Further Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal 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 bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in 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 address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.