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On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a flawless news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position Amid a Business Tug-of-War

Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

A Further Layer: Political Influence

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

Remember the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

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

An Outcome of Continued Instability

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Bigger Issue and a Potential Solution

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

“Our current system is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and different 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? Reform is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

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

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.