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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement rang true for a lot of people. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists reality-based and largely trustworthy reporting – especially during fast-moving events like the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation During a High-Stakes Battle

However the news network, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two giant media corporations vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-risk game of corporate ownership, not as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with powerful individuals as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard explained.

A Further Element: Donald Trump

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

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will shield him from criticism and scrutiny. That is a factor in why he seems to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to like that bidder more. For one thing, it is controlled 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, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Possibility of Continued Instability

Notably, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a standalone company. Such a move could be a relief 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.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should prohibit both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu argued.

The Fundamental Issue and a Way Ahead

Regardless of the resolution regarding CNN, the underlying crisis endures.

“What we have now is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – originating in the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Is this likely in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is very unlikely now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in a handful of hands are within reach – they are necessary for a robust democracy.

Regarding media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN cannot be pieces in the most recent corporate chess match.