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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true to many. It remains one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and largely reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a Corporate Struggle

However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

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

“It gets presented as a financial tale with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

A Further Factor: Donald Trump

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run 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, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu stated.

The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead

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

“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest acquisition battle.