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This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find grounded and generally reliable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State Amid a Corporate Battle

But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media empires compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Factor: Political Influence

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

He has grounds to favor that suitor 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 installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Continued Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. There is no finish line.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu stated.

The Core Problem and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in very few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN must not be pieces in the latest merger game.