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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It remains one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and largely reliable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It gets presented as a financial tale with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

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

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

He has grounds to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Continued Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue persists.

“What we have now is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will not happen in the future.

Policies that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent acquisition battle.