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This past Thursday night, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate for a lot of people. It is one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during fast-moving events such as the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation During a Business Struggle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has been drawn into a major game of mergers and acquisitions, 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 many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“It is often framed as a business story with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

The Additional Element: Political Influence

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of More Uncertainty

Notably, if Netflix wins, 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 safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Problem and a Path Forward

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

“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN must not be tools in the latest corporate chess match.