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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, the network'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 flawless news source, her message resonated for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and mostly trustworthy reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Struggle

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

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

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Future of Continued Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Issue and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem persists.

“What we have now is a highly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix 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 not happen in the future.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

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