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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message rang true for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one developing close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State During a High-Stakes Struggle

However the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media conglomerates vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Pennsylvania University.

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

A Further Layer: Donald Trump

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of More Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

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

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

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

“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the latest acquisition battle.