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

Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message resonated to many. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation Amid a Corporate Struggle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

A Further Factor: Political Influence

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

Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

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

A Future of More Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

In the view of 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 prohibit both deals.

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

The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.