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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the broadcasters where one can locate reality-based and generally reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of governmental choices,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The network's predicament is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to like that suitor more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Future of More Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.

“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are necessary for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the latest corporate chess match.