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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation about a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It stands as one of the outlets where there exists grounded and mostly dependable reporting – especially during breaking news situations like the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a Corporate Struggle

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a uncertain state as two huge media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, 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 many years of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the Penn.

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

“It is often framed as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard explained.

The Additional Factor: The Former President

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

Recall the cries of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. You can read that as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is part of why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

He has grounds to like that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

A Possibility of Further Turmoil

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be carved out into a separate entity. Such a move could be a relief to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a guarantee of stability. That arrangement could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

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

“Either merger would be harmful to the country, and both should be opposed by the government,” Wu stated.

The Bigger Challenge and a Potential Solution

Regardless of the resolution in this situation, the bigger problem persists.

“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and new policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will never happen.

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

Regarding media ownership, larger is not superior. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent corporate chess match.