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Late Thursday, as rumors swirled about the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a impeccable news source, her message resonated to many. It remains one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and generally reliable reporting – particularly during crises like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Position During a Corporate Tug-of-War

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain situation as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the future of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Element: Political Influence

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his primary “fake news” foe.

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will insulate him from journalistic oversight. That is a factor in why he appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to prefer that bidder 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, parent of CBS News, also recently placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

An Outcome of Further Turmoil

Notably, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could set up CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance recently argued that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.

The Fundamental Issue and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.

“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the accumulation of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are vital for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the latest corporate chess match.