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Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins took to social media, noting the confusion and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words rang true to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where there exists fact-based and mostly dependable reporting – notably during crises such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position During a Corporate Tug-of-War

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious position as two huge media corporations vie for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has been drawn into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in many years of governmental choices,” stated Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the Pennsylvania University.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is hardly any discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Layer: Political Influence

The network's predicament is made more complex by Donald Trump’s longstanding stance about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his main “fake news” adversary.

Remember the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his tense exchanges with Collins in White House briefings.

Trump now says 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 appears to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to prefer that bidder more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently installed the conservative Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.

A Possibility of Continued Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix prevails, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a relief to many at the network, but it’s far from a safe harbor. That setup could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. The cycle continues.

According to Timothy Wu, much of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should block both deals.

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

The Bigger Challenge and a Way Ahead

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

“What we have now is a very anti-democratic system, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this hyper-commercialized monster, and new policy decisions can tackle it.

Will that happen in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

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

Regarding media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN must not be pawns in the latest acquisition battle.