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This past Thursday night, amid swirling speculation regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her channel's 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a perfect news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It remains one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and generally dependable reporting – notably during crises like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious State During a Corporate Struggle

But the news network, now four and a half decades old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two giant media conglomerates battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

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

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

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is scant discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

The Additional Element: Donald Trump

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

Remember the cries 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 asserts that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is controlled 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 conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Future of Further Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s far from a guarantee of stability. That structure could pave the way for CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Core Problem and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.

“Our current system is a very anti-democratic system, but we ought not succumb to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Policy decisions – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the head of the FCC refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the consolidation of media power in too few hands are within reach – they are essential for a robust democracy.

In the world of media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations like CNN must not be pieces in the latest acquisition battle.