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On Thursday evening, while unconfirmed reports spread about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her channel's 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her message rang true to many. It remains one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and mostly dependable reporting – particularly during fast-moving events like the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Vulnerable State Amid a High-Stakes Tug-of-War

Yet CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious state as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the destiny of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of business acquisition, rather than as a question of what helps the news-consuming public.

“This is yet another example of the profound systemic issues with origins in decades of regulatory actions,” said Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the Penn.

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

“The narrative is crafted as a financial tale with influential figures as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the common good,” Pickard added.

The Additional Element: The Former President

This situation is complicated by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his primary “fake news” antagonist.

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

Trump now asserts that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will protect him from negative coverage and examination. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a unsolicited offer.

Trump has reason to prefer that bidder 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 installed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, known for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the top editor of that storied news network.

An Outcome of More Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That structure could position CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

In the view of Timothy Wu, a lot of this is a violation of antitrust statutes, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that competition laws should disallow both deals.

“Both acquisition attempts would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.

The Bigger Issue and a Way Ahead

Whatever happens in this situation, the underlying crisis remains.

“Our current system is a profoundly structure that undermines democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard said. Regulatory choices – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can fix it.

Will that happen in an era where the top communications regulator will not confirm that the agency is independent? Reform is highly improbable now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Initiatives that bolster independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prevent the consolidation of media power in a handful of hands are not only possible – they are essential for a functioning democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the newest corporate chess match.