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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a perfect news source, her message seemed accurate to many. It remains one of the broadcasters where one can locate fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one taking place close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Situation Amid a Corporate Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain position as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Whatever the outcome, the future of CNN has become part of a major game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of regulatory actions,” noted Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about the future owner of Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with powerful individuals as the protagonists, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Additional Layer: Donald Trump

This situation is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” adversary.

Think back to the cries of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is part of why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason to favor that suitor 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 placed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Future of Further Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a secure position. That structure could set up CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Either merger would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by regulators,” Wu recently wrote.

The Bigger Problem and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem remains.

“The present media landscape is a very anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Policies that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, fund public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.