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On Thursday evening, as rumors swirled regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It is one of the organizations where there exists grounded and largely reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Position Amid a Business Battle

But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It gets presented as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Complicating Element: The Former President

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

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

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

He has grounds 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.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.

A Future of Further Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That structure could position CNN for another sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

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

The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the larger issue remains.

“The present media landscape is a very system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different 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? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest corporate chess match.