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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, pointing out the conflicting information and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although CNN is certainly not a perfect news source, her message resonated for a lot of people. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and largely dependable reporting – particularly during crises like the one unfolding close to a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War

However CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious position as two massive media empires 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 news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the fundamental flaws with roots in many years of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – could it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – fails to grasp a more important point.

“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is scant discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Layer: The Former President

The CNN scenario is made more complex by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his main “fake news” foe.

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

Trump now claims that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is part of why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to favor that company more. For one thing, it is led by David Ellison, son of the pro-Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

The company, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the conservative Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that storied news network.

A Future of Further Uncertainty

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, 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 hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

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

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the underlying crisis endures.

“What we have now is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Regulatory choices – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this overly commercial monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is a distant prospect now, but that should not imply it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that strengthen independent news organizations, aid 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.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations like CNN cannot be tools in the latest corporate chess match.