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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for numerous observers. It stands as one of the organizations where you can find reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable position as two massive media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

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

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The CNN scenario is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

There is a basis to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of Further Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for another sale. It never ends.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Problem and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the larger issue persists.

“The present media landscape is a very structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this profit-obsessed monster, and revised policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Measures that strengthen independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be tools in the newest merger game.