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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate grounded and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Business Struggle

However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the future of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Layer: The Former President

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

A Possibility of Further Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

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