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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Corporate Battle

However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

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

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Factor: The Former President

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

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

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Future of More Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated 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 arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead

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

“The present media landscape is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.