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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message rang true to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – notably during crises like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle

But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media conglomerates vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the profound systemic issues with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The conjecture about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a larger point.

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

A Further Element: Political Influence

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

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now says 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 appears to support 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 pro-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 lead editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of More Instability

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for another sale. The cycle continues.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem endures.

“The present media landscape is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

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

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are essential for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the latest corporate chess match.