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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a perfect news source, her words rang true for a lot of people. It remains one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position During a Business Tug-of-War

However CNN, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two huge media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a broader point.

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

A Further Factor: Political Influence

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled 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 CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

He has grounds to prefer 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.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

An Outcome of Further Uncertainty

It is important to note, 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 far from a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Problem and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.

“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

Initiatives that support independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.