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On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, pointing out the conflicting information and directing people to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her statement seemed accurate to many. It stands as one of the organizations where one can locate fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one taking place near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable Situation Amid a Business Tug-of-War

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a vulnerable state as two huge media conglomerates compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has become part of a major game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what helps the information-seeking public.

“This represents another instance of the deep structural problems with origins in decades of policy decisions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Penn.

The debate about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a larger point.

“It gets presented as a business story with key players as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

A Further Factor: Political Influence

This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has frequently denounced as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in official meetings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from journalistic oversight. That is one reason why he seems to favor Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

There is a basis to prefer 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.

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

An Outcome of More Instability

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be separated into a separate entity. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a safe harbor. That arrangement could set up CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

According to Timothy Wu, a lot of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that competition laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be detrimental to the country, and both should be challenged by the government,” Wu recently wrote.

The Fundamental Challenge and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens regarding CNN, the underlying crisis remains.

“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this hyper-commercialized monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are achievable – they are essential for a healthy democracy.

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