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This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a flawless news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the outlets where one can locate fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – notably during fast-moving events like the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation During a High-Stakes Struggle

But the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two massive media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what benefits the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the fundamental flaws with origins in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard said.

The Additional Factor: The Former President

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

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

Trump now says that the network requires new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

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

Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of Continued Instability

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a guarantee of stability. That setup could position CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

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

The Bigger Issue and a Path Forward

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a highly structure that undermines democracy, but we ought not succumb to learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw 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 such as CNN must not be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.