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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement resonated for a lot of people. It is one of the organizations where you can find fact-based and generally reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War

However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain state as two massive media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has become part of a high-risk game of business acquisition, not as a question of what serves the information-seeking public.

“Here is one more case of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

“It is often framed as a business story with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

The Complicating Factor: Political Influence

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” foe.

Think back to the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory suspension of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

He has grounds 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, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the editor-in-chief of that storied news network.

A Possibility of Continued Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. The cycle continues.

If you ask Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Core Challenge and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the underlying crisis remains.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Is this likely in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Policies that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and outlaw the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the newest acquisition battle.