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Late Thursday, amid swirling speculation concerning the Brown University gunman, the network's Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Even though it is by no means a flawless news source, her statement rang true for numerous observers. It is one of the broadcasters where you can find fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during breaking news situations such as the one developing near a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious State Amid a Corporate Battle

Yet the news network, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media corporations compete for ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

No matter the result, the destiny of CNN has turned into a major game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with origins in many years of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a more important point.

“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the main characters, but there is very little discussion of the public interest,” Pickard said.

The Additional Layer: Political Influence

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

Recall the shouts of “CNN sucks!” at Trump's rallies, his team's disciplinary withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will protect him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a aggressive takeover attempt.

Trump has reason 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.

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

A Future of Continued Uncertainty

It is important to note, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a separate entity. Such a move could be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That setup could pave the way for CNN for yet another acquisition. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance stated that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

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

The Fundamental Problem and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem persists.

“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we shouldn’t give in to a sense of powerlessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can address it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is a distant prospect now, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen in the future.

Initiatives that support independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.

When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations such as CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent merger game.