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This past Thursday night, as rumors swirled about an incident at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network’s 9pm newscast.

Although the network is hardly a flawless news source, her words resonated for numerous observers. It is one of the organizations where there exists fact-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one developing in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

A Precarious Position Amid a Business Struggle

But CNN, now 45 years old, finds itself in a precarious situation as two giant media empires battle over ownership of its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-stakes game of business acquisition, instead of as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.

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

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

“The narrative is crafted as a corporate drama with key players as the central actors, but there is scant discussion of the public interest,” Pickard added.

The Complicating Element: Political Influence

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

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

Trump now says that CNN needs new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will insulate 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 aggressive takeover attempt.

There is a basis to favor that company more. For one thing, it is controlled by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

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

An Outcome of Continued Turmoil

Significantly, if Netflix wins, 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 far from a secure position. That arrangement could position CNN for another sale. There is no finish line.

In the view of Timothy Wu, much of this is against the law, anyway. The well-known analyst 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 argued.

The Core Challenge and a Potential Solution

No matter the outcome regarding CNN, the bigger problem persists.

“Our current system is a highly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist the belief that change is impossible,” Pickard noted. Government actions – dating back to the 1930s and 1940s – helped to foster this profit-obsessed monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Is this likely in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair won’t even affirm that the agency is independent? Change is a distant prospect now, but that is not to say it will never happen.

Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, reinforce local journalism, subsidize public media, and prohibit the consolidation of media power in very few hands are achievable – they are vital for a functioning democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be tools in the most recent merger game.