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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement resonated to many. It remains one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and largely dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position Amid a Business Struggle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

A Further Element: The Former President

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

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

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

An Outcome of More Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. This might be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should block both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be harmful to the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu stated.

The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis persists.

“What we have now is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, aid local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.