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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’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 flawless news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It is one of the outlets where there exists grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a Corporate Battle

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Element: Donald Trump

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

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis 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.

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.

A Possibility of More Instability

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Problem and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.

“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pawns in the newest acquisition battle.