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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the outlets where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position Amid a Business Struggle

Yet CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

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

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Factor: Donald Trump

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to prefer that bidder 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, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.

A Future of Continued Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

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

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

The Core Issue and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.

“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN cannot be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.