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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where you can find grounded and mostly reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Struggle

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious position as two giant media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The debate about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – is it going to be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

A Further Factor: The Former President

The CNN scenario is further muddied by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.

Recall the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

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

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that historic news network.

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be contested by the government,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the larger issue remains.

“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we ought not succumb to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Can reform occur in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the accumulation of media power in very few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.