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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a impeccable news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War

However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two massive media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

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

“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

A Further Layer: Political Influence

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary 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. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.

A Future of Continued Instability

Significantly, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu argued.

The Core Issue and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.

“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen 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 is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the latest corporate chess match.