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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While it is by no means a impeccable news source, her statement seemed accurate for a lot of people. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists reality-based and largely reliable reporting – notably during crises such as the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a High-Stakes Battle

Yet the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media corporations 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, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of governmental choices,” noted Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Factor: The Former President

The network's predicament is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.

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

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

There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is led 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 placed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of More Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a independent unit. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Problem and a Path Forward

Regardless of the resolution with this particular battle, the bigger problem remains.

“What we have now is a profoundly anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.

Policies that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, subsidize public media, and prevent the concentration of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the latest acquisition battle.