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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her words resonated to many. It remains one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one unfolding near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War

However CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

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

“It gets presented as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Additional Factor: The Former President

The CNN scenario 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 shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason 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.

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

An Outcome of Continued Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.

The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward

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

“Our current system is a very system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.